


The Last First Time

by itwas_red



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-06-03 04:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 33,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6596833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itwas_red/pseuds/itwas_red
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love was something Oliver Queen hadn’t given much thought to. At one time he had been certain he would find it with a girl with a winning smile, a sharp tongue and dark hair. But then his whole world got turned upside down and he stopped thinking about love at all until he was back home trying to piece himself back together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Love was something Oliver Queen hadn’t given much thought to. At one time he had been certain he would find it with a girl with a winning smile, a sharp tongue and dark hair. But then his whole world got turned upside down and he stopped thinking about love at all until he was back home trying to piece himself back together.

Some part of him had always thought that he and Laurel would work things out. Even after they lost Tommy and, subsequently, lost the ability to look each other in the eye, he was still sure, on some level, that one day his heart would end up entwined with hers, her last name staying the same but a ring on her finger telling the world differently.

Dinah Laurel Queen. He’d been _sure_ it would end that way.

No one ever accused him of being right though. Not about matters of the heart, at least, and especially not when they involved a beautiful woman with Lance for a last name.

He wasn’t the kind of person to sit around and think about something that wasn’t necessarily an inevitability.

Another reason he’d considered Laurel as the woman he’d spend the rest of his life with was because she knew his big, green secret. Sara did too, of course, but she’d run off with Ray on some mission and hadn’t come back. Maybe it was for the best. Both Lance sisters in the same place always made him feel more like Ollie, the playboy billionaire with too much money and too few morals, when in reality, that boy died when his mother had a hole blown into the side of his father’s yacht.

He dated on and off, never letting anything get too serious because none of the women he’d tied himself to romantically struck him as the type to think dating a vigilante was okay. If he was going to share himself with someone, he was going to share everything. Maybe not all of his memories because they were hard for him to think of and he didn’t want to see pity or anger or disgust on the face of any woman he loved, but enough to know that he wasn’t shutting himself off.

Digg always told him when he met the right woman, he would know and being with them would be the easiest thing he’d ever done.

Digg was wrong.

When he met the woman who would make him fall in love for the last time, it was anything but easy. She was beautiful, sure, and witty, but she was also challenging in a way he hadn’t expected. His smirk did nothing. Neither did his grin. His best pick up line was met with an arched brow and a laugh before she excused herself to rejoin her friends on the other side of the party.

He could actually _feel_ Tommy standing just behind his right shoulder, laughing at his inability to pick up a girl who, by Ollie Queen’s beliefs, should have been more than willing to take his hand and go home with him. This woman, the one he hadn’t gotten a name from, had dismissed him as if he was some loser. It made him want to revert, to throw his name around and remind her that he was a catch, but he wasn’t that guy, hadn’t been for a long time, and it made him mad to think that she couldn’t see that.

He’d spent the rest of the night trying to catch her attention but had failed. She left with a brunette and an African American woman, both of whom looked at him with not a little lust, but she never let him catch her eyes again.

He’d instantly decided that time didn’t count. He would find her again and do better. He didn’t know why he cared so much, she was just a blonde with nice legs and the brightest laugh he’d ever heard, but he had a goal and he would see it through. The island taught him how to be determined and meet his goal.

The laughing ghost of his best friend didn’t do anything to dissuade him. Neither did the eye roll of his partner.

The second time he saw her, he vowed to make a better first impression. She was standing in line at a coffee shop he walked into on a whim. Thea would tell him it was fate; he would remind her that fate didn’t exist and sometimes people just needed a coffee.

Oliver kept his eyes on her as she waited, her fingers sliding over the tablet in her hand. As if she could feel his eyes on her, she looked up and turned, her eyes scanning the room. When they met his, he watched her breath catch in her throat and he couldn’t help but smile.

He frowned when she determinately looked back to her tablet. No more than forty seconds later, his phone was going off, a video of a porcupine passing gas blaring loudly from the speakers. He panicked and did all he could to silence it and when that didn’t work, he forced the phone to shut down and shoved it into his pocket, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

By the time he looked up, she was gone. He creased his brow, wondering if she’d been responsible for the video. Dismissing the thought immediately – she didn’t have his number, after all – he began planning for his third first meeting. Because this one didn’t count either. They hadn’t even spoken.

The third time he ran into her, it was a little more violent than he’d hoped. He and Thea were chatting quietly about their night job and she’d been with some dude with floppy hair who couldn’t stop staring at her and _bam_. She and Thea collided and he’d grabbed his sister to keep her from falling. The blonde’s companion hadn’t been as fast and she landed on her rear with an affronted look on her face.

“I’m so sorry,” he said and she just gaped at him for a minute. Shifting uncomfortably, he offered his hand but Thea pushed in front of him, apologies spilling from her lips and, of course, blaming him for taking up too much sidewalk for anyone else to be able to navigate safely. The woman smiled and told his sister that she was fine, it was fine, and he got a little lost in the sound of her voice.

He wanted to know her name and he was about to ask when Floppy Hair pointed to his watch and put his hand on the small of her back and propelled her own the sidewalk once more.

He was going to count the fact that she looked back at him over her shoulder as a mini-win. But they hadn’t spoken so it would have to be a fourth first impression. Hopefully the next would go smoother and end with him at least having her name.

The fourth time they met, he didn’t see her first. He didn’t see her at all, actually. At least not at first. He was at the park with Digg, Lyla and Sara when the little girl fell and his heart jumped into his throat. Ignoring his friend telling him that she was fine, he got to his feet and headed for the little beauty with her bottom lip stuck out.

Before he was able to reach her, though, a boy with dark hair sat down beside her, a frown on his face as he spoke softly to her. Oliver watched as his goddaughter smiled and wiped her tears and handed the boy a shovel so they could dig together in the sandbox. The interaction reminded him that people weren’t inherently bad. Kids were good, for the most part, and it was something learned that turned them into the bad guys he hunted.

“Is she okay?” he heard and his head snapped up to see the blonde he’d been trying so hard to meet. He didn’t answer, just started at her, and it made her shift. “I – your daughter – is she …?”

“She’s not mine,” he told her quickly. “She’s …” He waved a hand behind him, not bothering to look back at John and Lyla because he was fairly positive at least one of them was laughing at him. “She’s my goddaughter.”

The woman smiled and he thought it was probably the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “It’s nice of you to be so concerned. That’s really … it’s really sweet.” She paused and tucked her lips in and he had to stop himself from staring. “I’m sorry, by the way.”

His eyes snapped to hers and he must have given her a confused look because she pushed forward. “About your phone. I, um, thought you were stalking me? I know it’s ridiculous because you’re _you_ and I’m, you know, _me_ , and there’s no reason someone like you would be stalking me but I’d seen you around a lot more lately –“ His brain diverted from her ramble because that was only the second time he’d seen her and she’d said _a lot_ which meant she’d seen him more. “- so I got a little nervous. He’s not a bad guy but he’s weird about child support and you kind of look like you could totally be a PI or a detective or something. Even though I know who you are but you never know. Maybe you’re a billionaire who likes to moonlight, you know?” When she paused to suck in a breath, a horrified look crossed her face. “Oh my god,” she breathed. “I – I’m so …”

“She does that a lot,” the little boy who was playing with Sara piped up. “That was kind long though. Mommy, do you need a juice box?”

The woman looked down at the boy and shook her head, thanking him for being so considerate before looking up at him. She kind of looked a little devastated and he knew he shouldn’t be a little thrilled by it but he was and he wasn’t going to be sorry about that. She wouldn’t be worried about it if she was so unaffected. _Fourth first impression it is_ , he decided with a mental grin.

“It’s okay,” he promised with a smile, his hand reaching out to rest against her hand. “The phone and … whatever that was.” He couldn’t stop the grin from ticking up at the corner of his mouth. “But just to make you feel a little better, I’m not a PI or a detective working for your husband –“

“Ex-boyfriend.”

“-ex-boyfriend,” he amended, forcing himself not to smile or otherwise let him know how pleased he was to hear that. “I’m just your regular, run-of-the-mill billionaire out playing in the park with my goddaughter.”

The woman smiled and nodded, glancing down to her son and back up to him. It looked like she wanted to say something but she held herself back, instead looking over his shoulder, probably spotting Lyla and Digg. “It’s nice that you spend time with your driver outside of work,” she said finally, and his brows knit together because _how in the hell_ could she have known Diggle’s cover? “I always kind of assumed you were more friends than employer-employee.”

“How …?” he asked before he cut himself off.

With a grin, she bent and told her son that they needed to head home. The boy told Sara that he hoped they could play together again before taking the blonde’s hand, waving at Oliver and indicating he was ready to go.

“I’m sure I’ll see you around. It was nice speaking with you, Mr. Queen.” With one last smile, she turned on her heel and walked towards the parking lot, the little boy’s hand grasped in hers.

It wasn’t until she wasn’t in his line of vision anymore that he realized he’d never gotten her name.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver finds out the name of the blonde and then enacts a plan to find out more about her.

It took nine days and a request from the Vice President for Cyber Security for him to learn her name.

Oliver admittedly knew less about cyber security than he did about passing a single class in college. He was pretty sure he still had a MySpace account floating around somewhere, much to the delight of his sister. Oliver and computers had never really gotten along in the first place but spending most of five years falling behind hadn’t helped his education. He was passable when he needed to be but Digg was better, which didn’t say much. Sara had been good but she was gone. Thea had skills but nothing that would be able to prep him for the interviews Dan Waters wanted him to sit in on.

Deputy Vice President for Cyber Security was apparently a big deal at QC. Quite frankly, Oliver didn’t even know how a title like that fit on a business card. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, he loved his family’s company very much, but the tech side of it was so far out of his comfort zone that it made him itch.

His assistant breezed into his office with a folder twenty minutes before he was due in the conference room, a frown on her face as she told him he needed to “study up so you don’t have _that_ look on your face when you meet with the candidates”. His narrowed eyes didn’t affect her and she fled before he could come up with a witty retort.

_Gregory Moore. Starling City by way of Gotham. Underwriter for Cyber Security Policy, Wayne Enterprises._ Oliver was pretty sure this guy would be a tool but he couldn’t exactly go into the meeting with a predetermined decision. _Cal Tech Class of 1997_. _Masters in Computer Sciences._ Older. Experienced. Looked good on paper.

_Allan Cologne. National City. Coder, Lord Technologies._ He’d never really paid attention to the tech companies so he didn’t have an opinion either way. The guy was an Army vet, though, so that automatically carried some weight with him. He’d gotten his education in the Army and refined it with a degree from Princeton after. He was also older and had a little less experience but he wasn’t being written off.

_Jeffrey Wallace. Starling City. Former Cyber Analyst, Merlyn Global_. Breathing out through his mouth, Oliver decided this guy would have to prove himself in a major way to even be considered. He didn’t have anything on his resume after _Merlyn_ and he just didn’t trust anyone who worked there at the time of the Undertaking.

_Felicity Smoak. Starling City. Coder, Underwriter and IT Specialist, Queen Consolidated. MIT Class of ’09. Masters in Cyber Security and Computer Sciences._ In house always rose to the top of his list. This time, it landed this woman second because Cologne and his Army training coupled with his experience in National City made him the preliminary frontrunner. Felicity Smoak intrigued him, though. She was the only woman to receive an invitation to this second interview and she already worked for QC. Maybe a promotion would be in store for her anyway, if Waters thought she was good enough. Obviously he wouldn’t be able to look at any of her work to make that determination himself.

Anna came into his office fifteen minutes later and shooed him to the conference room, warning him that he was invited and falling asleep would make him look both bad and incompetent. Sometimes he wondered why he kept her around. Truthfully, it was probably because she kicked his ass and made him cookies. He wasn’t all that complicated in the light of day.

Sitting down with Dan and a couple of other ranking members of the CS Department wasn’t as terrible as he worried. They didn’t all talk in some weird alien computer language or anything, which put him at ease.

The first candidate, Cologne, came in and Oliver had to admit he was very impressed. The man carried himself well, seemed to know what he was talking about if the looks on the other men’s faces was any indication, and didn’t back down from any questions. Oliver shook his hand and gave him a smile when the interview concluded. He was right in his initial assessment; this guy was good and Oliver wanted him for QC.

Waters’ assistant popped her head in the door and told them that Mr. Moore was running late but Ms. Smoak was here and available and Dan actually smiled and told his assistant to bring her in.

The click clack of high heels preceded the candidate and when Oliver looked up and met her eyes, he knew he was screwed. He also finally knew the blonde woman’s name.

“Oh,” she breathed, one hand moving to rest over her chest. “I, um.”

“Felicity, come in,” Dan addressed, smiling and motioning to a chair as he and the other men rose and waited for her to be seated. She was already mostly in her chair when Oliver followed suit. With a mumbled _sorry_ , he returned to his seat as well.

Everything just got a lot more complicated.

He made it through the interview without saying or doing something stupid but it wasn’t easy. He wanted to ask her why she never told him she worked at QC. He wanted to know why she never offered her name. Then again, she knew who he was so she probably didn’t want to make him feel weird about flirting with an employee.

_Shit_.

Oliver wanted to chase after her – _Felicity_ – when she left but they had two more candidates to go through. They passed at an excruciatingly slow pace and when it was all said and done, Oliver was right back where he stared when he read the four resumes: Cologne or Smoak. He told Waters and the others his thoughts but made sure to tell them that he wasn’t going to endorse one over the other, that it was their decision, and then laid out his reasons for each.

He omitted the part where he desperately wanted to ask Felicity Smoak on a date. That would have probably hurt her more than helped her.

After the interviews were concluded, he told Waters to let him know who the final candidate was and then left the conference room. He considered going down to the IT Department and confronting Felicity but he figured she would probably do whatever she could to avoid him. He wasn’t even supposed to be in those interviews.

It took him two hours and thirty seven glares from Anna before he finally told himself that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he went down to IT and spoke to her. He could tell her how good of a job she did or something. Current and potential employers did things like that, right?

He texted Digg to ask and his best friend sent him an “LOL” in response. He wasn’t sure how to take that but he knew Digg woudn’t be any help to him.

The elevator down to her floor seemed to take forever and when he stepped out of the car, he realized he’d never been here before. What reason would he have had?

Luck happened to be on his side, however, because a young man was walking down the corridor and Oliver was able to flag him down.

“Hi, sorry,” he began with a smile. “I’m looking for Felicity Smoak. She works on this floor, right?”

The man gaped at him for a good thirty seconds before snapping himself out of it and nodding. “Yeah, she does. Her office is down that hall,” he pointed. “But she left for the day. She had an interview and then got a call that her kid’s not feeling good or something. She didn’t want it – him, it’s a boy, I think – getting all the other kids in the day care sick. You wanna go leave her a note or something?”

Oliver began frowning about the time when the guy said she left and his frown was even deeper when the story ended. “No, thank you,” he said as he forced a smile. “I’ll catch up with her another time.” He turned and headed back towards the elevator before he stopped and refocused his attention on the man who helped him. “Does Felicity’s son go to the day care here?” he asked, trying not to sound as hopeful as he was.

“Not sure, Mr. Queen. Sorry.”

Unhelpful little twerp.

Oliver thanked him before getting back into the elevator and heading up to his office. He knew he could find her, he had her resume with her phone, e-mail and address, but he didn’t want to be the stalker she worried he was. If he was going to meet her properly, he was going to do it the right way. No being sneaky.

Thea was going to be sneaky for him.

 

* * *

 

“You’re an idiot,” his sister declared as she set her coffee cup down on the counter the next morning. “Like, a real, legitimate idiot. You’re the goddamn Green Arrow and you’re sending in your little sister to do recon on some girl that you’re, for whatever reason, too chicken to talk to? This is some high school level idiocy, Ollie. Why don’t you just pass her a note?”

Frowning, Oliver took a bite of his apple and stared. He knew it was crazy but he really wanted to be able to talk to Felicity without making himself sound creepy. Then again, knowing things about her that he probably shouldn’t know probably fell into the creepy area anyway.

“I’m just saying, you could run into her in the coffee shop, compliment her shoes or whatever it is girls do, and then talk me up.”

“How the hell did you ever get Laurel to fall in love with you?” the snorted before taking a bite of bacon.

Oliver fell quiet, his brows drawn. Back then, he threw out lines and fell into bed with any girl who took the bait. Laurel was the one who did it most often and, yeah, he fell in love with her, but that wasn’t how he operated anymore. He wasn’t the playboy billionaire who survived a murder attempt.

He couldn’t let his sister have the upper hand, though, so he smirked and gave her a wink. She wrinkled her nose and mimed throwing up so he was pretty sure he won that round.

“I’m not asking for much, Speedy,” he said on a breath. “And I’m not asking you to do something you wouldn’t do if the meeting was an accident. I just want to see where her head is at. I know she has an ex and a kid but I don’t know anything else. I don’t go into anything blind, not anymore, and you know that. But this girl – this _woman_ – is … I’m just kinda drawn to her and I need to know more. So pretend it’s a mission. Or even make a new friend. She’s smart and pretty and she thought Sara was my daughter. I don’t know how that helps but it’s something. Just don’t make it sound like I’ve talk about her.”

“You’re insane,” his sister declared. “ _But_ I’m going to see if I can help you.” When he opened his mouth to respond, she held up a hand to stop him. “Not because I think this is a good idea but because I think it’s hilarious how twisted around you are and I figure if you’re like this and she’s _not_ in the room, it’s going to be YouTube-worthy to watch you trip all over yourself when she is.”

Like the whirlwind she was, Thea left the kitchen without another word. Oliver stared after her, his thumb rubbing over his index and middle fingers on his right hand as he thought about what he just set in motion.

Thea talking to Felicity could be either really bad or really good. Either way, he was pretty sure his sister didn’t strictly have his best interest at heart.

He was probably going to regret this plan.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all of the positive feedback on the first chapter! I was planning on going to bed an hour ago but this kind of struck and I didn't want to lose it. Comments and suggestions are always appreciated! Thank you!


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His sister was useless as a wingman.

It took Thea three days to come back to him with any details about Felicity and when she did, it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. At all.

“She knew who I was,” she said flatly as she dropped onto a stool in their headquarters. “Immediately. It was like, I complimented her purse because it was really nice – which reminds me, you’re going to buy me a purse like that for running your stupid recon for you – and she asked me how it was possible she had something _Thea Queen, Fashion Expert and Starling’s Best Dressed_ didn’t already have. I was made before I even tried. Not to mention the fact that she’s seen me before, idiot.”

Sighing, Oliver ran a hand over his face and then reached for one of his arrows, needing something to tinker with. He’d forgotten Thea was with him and had met her before. “So she didn’t even really talk to you?”

“She did once I told her you were too chicken to say anything to her.”

Oliver’s mouth dropped open, his heart speeding up with what could possibly turn out to be an anxiety attack. “Speedy! Are you – what the _hell_?”

Smiling, Thea stood up and made her way over to the mini fridge and took out a water. “She already knew who I was. There was really no point in beating around the bush. I was made, really quickly, I might add, and there were no other alternatives. I did what I had to do and I’m not sorry.”

The room grew quiet and it was all Oliver could do to not shout at his sister for ruining his plan. It wasn’t her fault, not really, but he didn’t care. He would never be able to approach her himself without his sister’s help. He wasn’t the playboy he’d been before the island or the guy who pretended he was to get girls when he got back.

The trouble, he thought, was that he was at a disadvantage. Felicity could type his name into a Google search bar and get all the information she thought she needed on him. All he knew was what was on her resume. And that she had a son and an ex-boyfriend. He wasn’t used to not knowing things.

After a few tense, silent moments, he got up the courage to ask. “So … what happened? What did she say?”

Thea, a wicked grin on her lips, answered. “She laughed at me like I was insane and went on her way.”

His sister was _useless_ as a wingman.

 

* * *

 

He received the memo the next day that Felicity got the job she’d applied for. He didn’t know how to feel about it, slightly worried that she’d been chosen because he knew her. Sort of. Obviously they _knew_ he knew her but he’d made sure to tell Waters to keep him out of it. He’d been impartial in the interviews and had given them strictly professional feedback.

That didn’t mean he hadn’t been secretly hoping Felicity would get the job.

The HR Department put on a little reception type thing for her and he decided he was going to go down and congratulate her. Shake her hand, prove he wasn’t a chicken who couldn’t hold a real conversation with her that wasn’t held in front of a sandbox.

Except when he got down to the reception, it was packed with people. He was the CEO so it really shouldn’t matter but he figured this was special for her and all the people in there wanted a moment of her time to congratulate her.

Or they wanted the free cake but that didn’t matter.

He thought about calling her new assistant – well, looking up who her new assistant was and then having his assistant call – to set up an appointment but he didn’t want to relate anything to QC. He wanted to talk to her outside of these walls, get to know her as a person, not as an employee.

Unfortunately, that would probably be easier said than done.

 

* * *

 

He was having Uncle Oliver time with Sara the next time he saw Felicity. She didn’t have Connor with her and it made him a little nervous to approach her – well, more nervous than usual – but he got so few opportunities that he could do nothing but at least _try_.

“Felicity, hi,” he said with a genuine smile as he and Sara approached her.

They were in the mall shopping for Diggle’s birthday, Sara held in his arms as she tugged at his ear and then whispered that she wanted candy.

“Oliver,” Felicity responded with a smile, her voice low and smooth. “And Sara. What brings you two out here today?”

“Daddy birfday!”

Smiling, Felicity nodded. “A very good reason. I hope you get him something good.” She turned her attention over to Oliver and he felt his stomach clench. “You sent your sister to get dirt on me.”

He couldn’t tell if she was mad or not and that kind of freaked him out. Her voice was calm, light, but he didn’t know her well enough to be able to say if it was reflective or her mood. Laurel and Sara got like that when they were ready to kick his ass. Lyla did too.

 _Shit_.

“I -.” He considered lying to her. He almost spit out some line about his sister being mad at him and brushed it off. But she arched her brow at him, as if she knew what he was thinking, and he couldn’t get the words out. “Um.”

She stared at him for a long minute, face impassive, before she broke out into a teasing grin. “You know, people aren’t usually intimidated by me unless they understand just how quickly I can destroy them.” She paused, horrified, before continuing. “Not that I destroy people or anything! I just meant I’m really good at getting information that no one else can find. Not that I go looking for skeletons in peoples closets or anything. I don’t. But if someone threatens you it’s always good to have a back up plan in case they try to move forward with their ne .. farious … oh God.”

Oliver’s heart was practically pounding out of his chest as he watched her get worked up over nothing. Her son had said that happened a lot and he really wanted to be there when it did. She was gorgeous, face flushed in embarrassment, and he had to wonder if she _always_ got embarrassed or only in front of him.

He selfishly hoped it was only in front of him.

“I find it hard to believe people don’t find your intimidating,” he told her with a grin. “Because it’s pretty hard to rattle me and you did that pretty easily.”

“And how, exactly, did I do that?” she asked him, a touch of a smile on her lips.

“You didn’t fall for me.”

Her mouth went slack and he considered it a win. He was pretty sure that was the first time he was able to take her by surprise and it was as satisfying as he’d hoped. More so. “I’m sorry?”

Sara wiggled in his arms and he knew he was running out of time. She was a _big girl_ , or so she told him, but there were limits to her patience and he could practically feel the meltdown building up. “The night we first met. I was ... interested –“

“Oh, I know you were,” she interrupted, a brow arched.

“And you blew me off. I’m – not to brag or anything but that’s not something that happens to me a lot. And when you did it again …” He shook his head, adjusting Sara and hoping to keep her tantrum at bay for just a few more minutes. “You intrigued me. I wanted to know more. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

She licked her lips and he fought everything within himself to not follow the track of her tongue. “And then we met at the park …”

“And I didn’t – I was so stupid. I didn’t ask for your name.” He smiled when she laughed. “And the first time I saw your name, I didn’t have any idea it was you. And then you walked into the conference room …”

“I – the job … it’s not …?”

“No,” he quickly assured her. “I gave my opinion on everyone. To be honest, I wasn’t sure they were going to go with you. I didn’t want any part of it because I was hoping …”

“You were hoping?” she asked leadingly when he trailed off.

His heart thudded in his chest, nerves gripping at him like a vice. She wasn’t running away. She was waiting patiently, maybe even hoping a little herself. He opened his mouth to tell her he was hoping they could get together and maybe get to know each other a little better when it happened.

Mount St. Sara erupted and Oliver couldn’t even hear himself think anymore.

“You should go,” she said and he didn’t know if she said it quietly or if he was just partially deaf because Diggle’s daughter had inherited her father’s bad attitude. “I’ll see you around, I’m sure.”

He waited a beat, watching her walk away as he committed the disappointed look on her face to memory. For the first time since they met, hope was burning hot in his chest.

She wanted to get to know him too.

 

* * *

 

Later that night, after returning Sara to her parents and doing a quick patrol with his sister, he returned to their base to a blinking phone. Frowning, he opened it to see a text from an unknown number.

 _I’m not a stalker_.

He was pretty sure that was something a stalker would say, which was how he replied. A moment later, an answer came back.

_True, but I’m being honest._

_What were you hoping?_

His heart rate sped up as he reread the message, two, three times, before he grinned. It couldn't be anyone but Felicity.

_How did you get my number?_

While he waited for her response, he removed his leathers and changed into a pair of cargo pants and a black t-shirt. After pulling on his socks, his phone lit up again and he couldn’t help but laugh.

_I told you I can destroy people but you think it’s impossible for me to get your phone number? I’m wounded by your lack of faith in me. Now … what were you hoping?_

For this. He was hoping for exactly this. He was hoping that she would give him the time of day, talk to him, want to know more about him too. It was pretty obvious that she would be able to get whatever information she wanted about him, including his personal cell phone apparently, but her getting his number and texting him like this told him all he needed to know.

She wanted to get to know him better too.

_I was hoping you’d be interested in having dinner with me. Next Friday night?_

Her response didn’t come immediately. Or even quickly. As time ticked by on the clock – one minute, two, five, ten – he wondered if he was wrong. Had he crossed some invisible line that she’d drawn? Did she not expect him to actually say it? That could have been it, if he was honest with himself, because he hadn’t been all that good with communicating up until today.

When she responded about twenty three – he _wasn’t_ keeping track – minutes later, he breathed a little easier.

_Sorry, Connor woke up and it wasn’t easy getting him back to sleep._

_I’m allergic to peanuts._

He frowned, not really knowing where the non sequitur came from.

_So, I mean, if you were going to take me to an Asian place, it would have to be one that didn’t use peanut oil. For example. I’m not saying we have to go out for Asian. I just thought you should know in case you wanted Asian. I do like it. A lot. But peanuts so._

His smile wider than it’d been in a long time, years maybe, he carefully typed a reply.

_Do you like Italian?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He wasn’t willing to let a lack of a babysitter bury their plans for the evening.

_I’m so sorry. Connor’s sitter called and said she couldn’t come and it’s too short notice for me to get a replacement. I’m so so sorry. Can I have a rain check on dinner?_

Oliver had stared at the text for a good thirty minutes before making a decision. It was probably very, very wrong – or _rude_ – to not send a reply but he honestly didn’t want to give her a chance to say no. He’d spend way too long trying to officially meet her and then ask her out. He wasn’t willing to let a lack of a babysitter bury their plans for the evening.

That was how he found himself standing in front of her house with two pizzas and a bottle of Sprite in his hands. He knew it could backfire so badly that she called him a stalker again and sent him away but, really, he thought it was worth the risk. She was a single mother who probably hadn’t planned out any dinner for her son because babysitters did that kind of stuff, didn’t they? He and Thea had Raisa growing up, though, so maybe he was wrong.

Regardless, he decided to take the leap and knock on her door. He head something fall to the ground and then a child’s laugh before the door opened. A little.

“ _Shoot_. Sorry. I just need to -.” The door shut again and he heard the slide of a chain lock before the door opened again and he was met with an incredible sight.

Felicity was standing in front of him in jeans and a Billy Joel t-shirt, hair in a messy ponytail and no makeup on. “Oliver?”

“Hey,” he grinned. “Not _exactly_ Italian, but …” he led, his hands raising slightly to show off the pizza and drink. “I thought it was close enough.” He lowered his voice, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Connor wasn’t within ear shot. “I was kind of hoping that we could still have our date anyway. Maybe just with an extra attendee. I promise I won’t get jealous.”

Felicity looked stunned and he was glad. She obviously hadn’t anticipated him being okay with not going out. And she obviously hadn’t expected him to show up wielding pizzas and soda and an invitation to spend the evening together even if her son was there too. But she wasn’t responding and he was starting to second-guess his decision. “I – sorry. I should have …”

“No!” she practically shouted and he felt himself take a step back out of shock. “No, sorry. I just … I mean … are you sure?”

Tilting his head to the side, he grinned. “I got one with pepperoni and one without because I wasn’t sure what you guys liked. And I got Sprite because … I don’t know. It seemed healthier than Coke?”

Felicity laughed and he found himself enchanted by her. Never before had he had such a reaction to a woman before. Even his relationship with Laurel wasn’t like this. He’d been attracted to her for sure but what he felt for Felicity was beyond that.

If he let himself think about it, he would probably be terrified.

“He’s in a no meat phase right now,” she said with a sigh, glancing over her shoulder to where Connor was sitting on the couch, his eyes on the television. “It’s been three days and I’m hoping he cracks soon because I’m running out of vegetables that he’s interested in trying and too much pasta isn’t good for him and _I_ like meat so …” Her cheeks pinked prettily and she just looked at him for a second before shaking her head. “I’m so sorry. Come in. How … wow, that was rude.”

Chuckling, Oliver walked into the house and immediately toed off his shoes, lining them up next to Felicity’s and Connor’s. “You’re fine. I mean, you didn’t know I was coming.”

“You’re the man from the park.” Oliver glanced away from Felicity to see Connor standing a little away from him. “Did you bring pizza?”

“Connor!” Felicity hissed. “I’m so sorry. He’s usually not so …”

“I was just …”

“It’s fine,” he assured Felicity, walking towards the kitchen table when she indicated he should follow her. “Yes, I’m the guy from the park. Oliver. And I did bring pizza. Pepperoni and cheese and just plain cheese. Which I’m pretty glad I got since your mom said you’re into the whole vegetarian thing.”

Connor stared at him before reaching out to take the soda and place it on the table. He was quiet as he took a moment to survey Oliver. He opened his mouth to say something but Felicity cut him off, obviously pretty positive she knew what he son was going to say. She sent him off to wash his hands while she busied herself getting plates and napkins.

“Anything I can help with?” he asked as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Cups or …?”

“That cabinet,” she pointed, smiling gratefully. “Thank you.”

They went about getting the table set and Oliver wondered part of the way through if maybe she had a rule about eating in front of the television or something. Or maybe she was trying to impress him. That thought made him grin and maybe he had an extra spring in his step as he placed Connor’s cup in front of his seat.

“Hon, please turn off the television while we eat,” she called out to her son, who’d come back from the bathroom with an excited smile on his face. The smile fell slightly as he clicked off the TV and Oliver commiserated. And realized that this was probably more about a house rule than about impressing him.

They all sat at the table and he dished out the pizza – cheese for Connor, pepperoni for himself ad Felicity – before pouring the soda. It wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind when he’d asked her out but it was going pretty well so far and he couldn’t regret not taking her to a restaurant. If tonight went well, he had a feeling he’d get a chance to do that another time.

 

* * *

 

Dinner went better than Oliver could have imagined. He thought maybe Connor would be nervous or something since he didn’t know him but the kid was engaged and talkative and Oliver was kind of charmed by him. He talked about how he liked sports – “But baseball is my _super_ favorite!” – and how he wanted to play for the Rockets when he got older. Oliver filed that information away for a time when he and Felicity – and Connor – knew each other a little better.

Felicity spent a lot of their dinner sitting in her chair smiling and just letting Connor talk. She didn’t back away and answered any questions that were asked but she seemed content to let the “menfolk”, as she called them more than once, chat about sports.

“Mom doesn’t understand sports,” Connor told him with a sigh.

“Untrue,” Felicity shot back gently. “I don’t _care_ about sports. But statistics are numbers and …”

“I know numbers.” Connor and Felicity spoke at the same time and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Serious though, Oliver. She’s super smart.”

Oliver smiled at Connor then turned his attention to Felicity. He wanted to say something about knowing how smart she was because of her job and the reports he was forced to read but he didn’t really want to bring attention to the fact that she worked for his family’s company. Tonight was about getting to know each other outside of any other connections they might have.

And it was going really, really great.

Connor decided they should watch a movie together and after Felicity checked the time and arched a brow at him, he shrugged and offered her a nod. He was game to stay if she wasn’t opposed to it. _Rookie of the Year_ was the choice and Oliver was not only impressed that the kid liked such an old movie but that he wasn’t picking something that no one else would be interested in. By the way Felicity rolled her eyes, it was probably his choice whenever they watched one.

It was a little past halfway through the movie when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Resolved to ignore it, he shoved his hand into his pocket and silenced his phone. He was on a mostly-date with the woman he’d been trying to get to know for _weeks_. There was nothing as important to him tonight.

Unless it was something that his sister needed. Or Arrow related. _Shit_.

“You can check it,” he heard from his left, her voice quiet and her eyes on him. “Connor’s asleep anyway so he won’t get on your case about it.” She gave him a smile that make his stomach flip and then nodded to him. “I promise I won’t think it’s rude.”

He smiled gratefully and pulled out his phone, frowning when he read the message. _Guess who’s back in town_ with a frowning emoji. Licking his lips, he shot back a reply, his brows knit together. He had no idea. And then the picture of Carrie Cutter – _It’s Cupid, stupid_ – flashed onto his screen and he felt ice running through his veins. She had a thing for the Arrow, a strange obsession, and he really didn’t want to have to deal with her when he was on the date.

However. “I’m so sorry,” he breathed as he looked up from his phone over to Felicity. “Something – something came up and I have to … I have to go.”

He could tell she was trying to hide a frown and she did a pretty good job of it. Unfortunately, he was pretty good at picking up on the little things. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. My sister just needs my help with something.” It sounded lame but it wasn’t a lie. Thea _was_ the one who was texting him. And adding a bunch of hearts and stuff to subsequent messages. He didn’t know if it was because of Carrie or Felicity but he wasn’t going to wait around to find out. “I’m really sorry.”

They stood together and she walked in towards the door, promising she wasn’t mad. She bit down on her bottom lip and stood beside him while he put his shoes back on and then looked back at her with a sigh. “I’ll -.”

His voice died when she stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for tonight,” she said with a smile. “I was really looking forward to going out with you.”

He smiled and places a hand on her bicep, giving it a squeeze. “We’ll try again,” he promised. “I’ll text you later?” At her nod, he smiled and gave her hand another squeeze before heading out the door. It hadn’t been what he had planned for the night but it was still pretty great in its own right.

 

* * *

 

Oliver, Thea, John and Laurel descended the stairs into the lair after handing Cupid back to Lyla and ARGUS. “She really needs to find someone else to focus on,” he groused. “It’s like she knew I was on a date.”

“Thought your date was cancelled,” his sister frowned. “You said she didn’t have a sitter.”

Grinning, Oliver replaced his bow and jacket before walking over to the table and grabbing his cell phone. “I took the date to her,” he answered as he opened his messages and grinned.

_Maybe on the next date we can have some actual Italian. And some good red wine. And no kid monopolizing my date._

_I sense some jealousy._

_Maybe yes, maybe no. I’ll never tell. :P_

Oliver chuckled and ignored the eyes he could feel on him. _Next Saturday night? I’ll even line up a backup sitter in case yours falls through again. ;)_

She didn’t respond right away so he took a minute to change out of his suit and wash his face. When he walked back to the main area, John had a brow arched. “You seem to be smiling a lot.”

“It was a good date,” he answered, grabbing his phone and smiling when he saw Felicity’s affirmative response. He shoved his phone back into his pocket before sliding his jacket on. “Go home to your wife and kid, John. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a clap on his friend’s shoulder, he headed for the stairs, pulling his phone out and shooting off another quick text to Felicity, smiling when she said he could call her when he got home.

It was new but it was good and he couldn’t wait until next Saturday so he could see her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all of the encouragement! You guys are awesome!


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You look like shit,” Thea pronounced as she walked into his office and dropped onto his couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so overwhelmed by the positive response to this story. Thank you so much for your kindness and support. Thank you!

Oliver hung up the phone and let out a long breath. Another conversation where the Russian contingent didn’t think he understood when they were badmouthing him in their language. Part of him wanted to bust them, fire them and hire a whole new group of executives but he knew that would cause more problems than it would solve.

“Oliver?” Anna called as she poked her head into his office. “I’m sorry. Your sister’s here to see you. Should I send her in?”

“Yeah, Anna, thanks,” he said with a tired, forced smile.

“You look like shit,” Thea pronounced as she walked into his office and dropped onto his couch. “I’d say you need a night of beating up low level thugs or drinking but really, I think maybe a night _off_ would be better. It’s after nine. Go _home_.”

Oliver sighed and ran a hand over his face, holding up a finger as he picked up his phone and called out to Anna, thanking her for staying and telling her to take a long weekend. It was Thursday and they’d gotten a lot done this week anyway and, aside from that, she’d definitely earned it. After hanging up the phone, he turned his attention back to Thea. “I need to go on a patrol. I didn’t go last night.”

“And why was that?” his sister teased. He must have made a sour face because she laughed. “You got distracted talking to _Felicity_.”

He hated – not really – the sing-song way his sister said her name. All she’d done since he’d gotten up the guts to ask Felicity out had been tease him. It was strange for him because she’d never done it before. He’d asked her more than once why now was different and his sister had unhelpfully just snorted and laughed.

Sometimes he really hated her.

“Maybe,” he conceded. “But whatever. We had to talk about what else we were going to do on Saturday night.” At Thea’s arched brow, he shook his head. “She has a _kid_. We’re not gonna …”

“Ever?” Thea asked with a snort. “Because the kid’s gonna be there until he’s, like, eighteen. Unless he’s some kind of genius. Then, what, like sixteen? I don’t know. But you’ve got at least ten years of there being a kid living in her house. I _really_ don’t think you’re gonna wait that long.”

She wasn’t wrong, but sex wasn’t something he was really worried about at the moment. Felicity was different from the other women he’d gotten involved with. For one, she was blonde, but he didn’t think that counted as much. But she was smart and driven and a _mother_. He wondered what his own would think of him spending time with a single mother. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t think his mother would care much for Felicity.

He was a little sad she would never be able to prove him wrong.

“Thea, we haven’t even been on a real first date.” It was weak and not an answer. When his sister laughed, he sighed. “It’s not … I’m trying not to follow my usual MO. Or whatever.”

Thea was quiet for a minute before she smiled and pushed herself up off the couch. “Home. Now.”

“Thea …”

“No, Ollie. Let’s go. You need to rest. Tomorrow night we’ll do an extra long patrol since you’re going to be out of commission Saturday night. And maybe this time, we won’t need to call you in because Cutter’s wandering around.”

Sighing, Oliver pushed himself out of his chair and nodded to his sister. “Home,” he agreed as he slid his suit jacket on over his shoulders. “But tomorrow, I want to do the warehouse district and the docks.” Her grunt made him grin. “We could always go out tonight.”

“I hate you,” she snapped, pushing out of his office. “Are you calling John?”

“Nah, we can take a cab back. I sent John home a couple hours ago.”

“You’re so nice,” Thea teased as they stepped onto the elevator. “I’m sure Lyla and Sara enjoyed seeing him for a few hours.”

“Keep talking, Speedy. I’ll make you run point on the next _Cupid_ case.” He paused. “God, I really hope they keep her locked up for good this time.”

Oliver groaned as Thea grinned and mimicked Carrie Cutter. “But I’m not _ever_ going to call you _lover_ like she does. That’s just gross.”

 

* * *

 

 _“You sound tired,”_ came the low, sweet voice from the other end of the phone. _“Were you in the office late?”_

“Had an early morning call with our Moscow office,” Oliver answered as he shifted to lay on his side in bed, the phone pinned between his ear and the pillow. “Early morning _there_. Late night here.”

_“You should be sleeping.”_

“I don’t know. I think this is pretty good use of my time. Am I keeping you up?”

 _“A little,”_ Felicity answered, _“but I don’t mind. I mean, I_ did _kind of fall asleep on you last night.”_

“Took me a few minutes to realize you were snoring,” he teased. “But I totally get it. Work and Connor … gotta be tiring.” She hummed in agreement and he couldn’t help but grin to himself. “Have you decided what else you want to do Saturday night?”

 _“Who says dinner’s going to go well enough for me to want to do something else?”_ she asked and he probably would have been nervous if he didn’t notice her tone. _“It could go really, really bad and we’ll want to run in opposite directions as fast as we can.”_

Shaking his head slightly, his eyes on the cityscape outside his window, Oliver replied, “I really don’t think that’s possible. I’ve been looking forward to taking you out since I first saw you. And don’t even say you weren’t interested then because _I know_ but doesn’t mean I haven’t been looking forward to it. And don’t say that it could still go bad because it _won’t_. I won’t let it.”

 _“I like your confidence.”_ Her voice was soft and sweet and if he closed his eyes, he could imagine that she was here with him. A dangerous thought, he knew, but it blindsided him and he couldn’t push it away fast enough. _“There’s plenty to do here. We could go anywhere in the city.”_

“Or maybe somewhere not exactly in the city,” he replied. “Maybe … a bay cruise?” She was quiet for a minute too long so he added, “If you like boats and stuff.” So lame.

_“I do. That’s … I’ve never had someone suggest that.”_

“Lots of lame first dates?” he asked, his eyebrows arched as he waited to see how high the bar was set.

_“Eh. They tried. Until I mentioned Connor and … well. So, yeah, you’ve already been my best first date in five years.”_

Oliver couldn’t help the self-satisfied smirk that crossed his lips. Felicity already had a son when they met so he knew they would be a packaged deal. And it didn’t really change how much he wanted to know her. If he got to know her kid too, that was fine by him. He liked Sara and wasn’t one of those bachelors who were scared of babies or kids so adding Connor to the mix only matter when they had to figure out someone to watch him.

He wasn’t above getting back at Thea for something by throwing her into the lion’s den of babysitting.

“Imagine how high I’ll be able to set the bar after Saturday night,” he said lowly.

 _“I don’t know. I think our date last week was pretty great. I’m not sure how you’re going to top it,”_ she answered and the tone of her voice did something to his stomach that he hadn’t felt since the first time he was with Laurel, though this time it was a little more intense. _“I look forward to finding out on Saturday night though.”_

“Does that mean a ride on the bay is a yes?”

 _“Yes, that sounds nice. Better than nice. It sounds_ really _nice.”_

Oliver smiled and let out a breath. It was kind of refreshing that she wasn’t worried about him freaking out being on a boat. Maybe because they weren’t going out anywhere that they couldn’t see land, maybe because she knew he went to the christening of a new ferry and then went on the inaugural sail … whatever it was, it felt really good that she didn’t bring it up. She trusted that he wouldn’t do something stupid just to impress her.

Or maybe she didn’t even consider it. He had no idea and he didn’t really care. She wasn’t babying him and that meant more than he could put to words.

“Good,” he breathed. “I’m looking forward to it.”

 _“I am too,”_ she answered, her voice slow and thick with that tone people get before falling asleep. _“Maybe it’s like Christmas. The sooner we sleep, the sooner it’ll be here? Not that – not that I know all that much about Christmas since I’m Jewish and all …”_ Something to file away for another time. _“But I have a lot of Christian friends. My friend’s dad used to tell us that a lot when we were growing up. I was skeptical because there’s no scientific evidence that sleeping ...”_ She trailed off and Oliver thought she might have fallen asleep but she expelled a breath and chuckled lightly. _“Sorry. I get a little more loose lipped when I’m tired.”_

“Get some sleep, Felicity. I’ll text you tomorrow night?”

They were both careful to not mix business with pleasure and didn’t text during work. It was a decision they’d come to shortly after their first date, neither wanting to bring it up but both knowing it was necessary. He may not be her direct supervisor but he _was_ her boss and neither wanted to give anyone any reason to gossip. If things worked out between them, he was sure they’d have another conversation about it. For now, though, they were going to keep it low key and out of the office.

 _“You get some sleep too. You worked late tonight.”_ He heard her take a deep breath and he smiled. _“Good night, Oliver.”_

“Good night, Felicity,” he responded before ending the call and blowing out a content breath. He reached out and put his phone on the night stand before closing his eyes knowing sleep would come tonight and that there was a good chance he would dream of her.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their second date was much more formal than their first and despite the fact that he’d had fun at Felicity’s house with her and Connor, he was glad to have her to himself.

Their second date was much more formal than their first and despite the fact that he’d had fun at Felicity’s house with her and Connor, he was glad to have her to himself. Because of who he was, he decided to go to a place in Lamb Valley where he wouldn’t be as easily recognized. He was still considered a high roller in Starling and from time to time, photographers found him and decided it was a good idea to invade his privacy.

That was the last thing Oliver wanted to happen when he was out with Felicity on their first formal date. He put on a slate gray suit with a blue tie, picked out by his sister because she couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself about this date, and headed out in his Porsche convertible.

When he got to Felicity’s house, he was suddenly nervous. He wasn’t the type of guy who usually felt these kinds of nerves but apparently Felicity brought them out in him. He liked her a lot more than he’d liked anyone in a long time and he wanted this date to go well. No crazy fans, no bad guys, no interruptions. Just him and Felicity and a romantic, sit-down dinner.

She answered her door in a deep blue dress, hair down and slightly curled with her glasses and Oliver felt his heart speed up. She muttered something about coming in and she had planned on putting her contacts in but the babysitter had been late and … “You look beautiful,” he breathed in interruption and that stopped her in her tracks. He grinned as her cheeks turned pink and she ducked her head. “And I think all you need are shoes and maybe something to … you know what? Just shoes,” he decided. If it got cold on their boat ride, he would just give her his jacket. In fact, he was already looking forward to it.

“Just shoes?” she asked, her head tilting to the side.

“Well, and anything else you need,” he answered, pretty sure she was talking about a purse. And maybe a jacket. He couldn’t exactly tell her not to bring one because he wanted to give her his.

“Let me just grab my purse and phone, kiss Connor, and then I’ll be right back.” He nodded and watched as she turned away before stopping and moving quickly over to him. “Hi,” she breathed before pushing up onto her toes so she could kiss his cheek. “Sorry. Forgot to say that. Okay! Just one minute. Maybe a little more but not much. Promise!” she called as she moved quickly towards the back of the house.

“Hey, Oliver,” Connor said as he looked over the back of the couch. “Where are you and mommy going?”

“We’re gonna go get some food that’s gonna be so small we’ll still be hungry then go on a boat and see the bay,” he responded as he shoved his hands into his pockets and stepped closer. The other person on the couch, a guy who looked to be around Felicity’s age, raised a hand as he looked at him. “Hey. Oliver Queen,” he said with a nod.

“Barry Allen,” the kid answered. “Babysitter Extraordinaire.”

“Barry came from Central City,” Connor said. “Because the girl he loves has a boyfriend.”

“Not cool, Little Man,” Barry frowned. “Secret.”

“It’s my Aunt Iris,” Connor continued. “She loves a real cop.”

Oliver had to hold back a smile as Barry’s frown deepened. “See if I order you one of those cookie pizzas now, traitor.”

“Ready,” Felicity called, stepping out from the hall, her glasses still perched on her nose, heels on her feet and a purse slung over her shoulder. “I’m ready. Sorry. Connor, be good for Barry,” she said, pausing to kiss her son’s cheek. “And Barry, be good for Connor.”

“No kiss for me?” the younger man teased.

Oliver arched a brow and then laughed when Felicity pressed a kiss to the top of Barry’s head. “I swear it’s like I have two kids sometimes.” Barry pulled a face so Felicity patted his head before moving away from them and towards Oliver. “I’m ready when you are,” she breathed.

“I’m ready,” he grinned, his arm moving out so she could step past him towards the door.

“See ya later, Oliver!” Connor called from the couch, his attention focused on the television.

“By Connor. Barry,” he added before stepping out behind Felicity and shutting the door behind them. “You really do look beautiful,” he directed at Felicity, his elbow bending out in offering.

Felicity slid her hand into the crook of his elbow and smiled. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure what to wear. I’ve never done this before. Well, I mean, I’ve been on dates before and I’ve been to dinner before but I’ve never been on dinner and a bay cruise before.”

He couldn’t hold back the smile that formed at her babble. He wasn’t sure why but it made him feel more at ease with his own nerves. “I think you picked the perfect dress,” he told her as he opened the passenger door for her.

Once she was settled inside, he closed the door and moved over to the driver’s seat. The restaurant wasn’t terribly far away so the drive went quickly with just some small talk traded between them. Oliver considered parking himself but it was just easier to use the valet, so he pulled into the line and smiled over at Felicity while they waited. “So, who’s Barry?”

“Jealous?” Felicity shot back with a little grin. “He’s actually my friend Iris’ best friend. I’ve known him almost as long as I’ve known her. As terrible as this sounds, he’s the most child-like of my friends and I feel like lately he hasn’t really had enough time with kids his own age so … I called Barry to see if he was free this weekend. He’s here until tomorrow evening.” She paused, rushing forward, “Not that I think I’m going to need him overnight for any reason whatsoever. I was just mentioning that he’s staying until tomorrow.”

Smiling, Oliver opened his mouth to answer but it was their turn to check the car in so he gave her a wink and handed over the keys. He met her on her side of the car and offered his elbow again before leading her inside. “Queen, party of two,” he said to the maître de.

As they were led through the restaurant, Oliver’s hand pressed lightly against the small of her back. “I knew what you meant,” he promised lowly.

Oliver nodded to the maître de and held Felicity’s chair out for her before moving to his own and sitting down. Out of habit, he let his eyes scan the room, identifying exits and any blind spots. He had positioned Felicity so her back was to the majority of the restaurant, which meant his vantage point was better to keep an eye on it and her.

“This place is beautiful,” Felicity told him, looking around. “Romantic but not cliché. I have to say, I’m a little impressed.”

“Wait until you see the menu,” he told her with a wink before grabbing the wine list and handing it over. “Please, pick whatever you’d like. I’m not really a wine connoisseur, despite my mother’s best attempts. There was a wine cellar at the manor but I never really spent much time down there appreciating the variety.” Of wine, at least. More than one of his flings had seen the wine cellar for non-alcohol-related activities.

“There are no prices on the wine list,” she told him, her eyes narrowed slightly.

“Not unusual,” he told her with what he hoped was a winning grin. “Just choose something you like or something you want to try.”

She looked like she was going to object but instead, she nodded and turned her attention back to the list. When the waiter arrived, Oliver requested a “bottle of …” and trailed off, letting Felicity fill in the blank with whatever her selection of. He also ordered a glass of water for himself and she followed suit. Once the waiter was gone, Felicity looked at him and gave him a small grin. “I suddenly have a feeling that I’m not going to be able to go dutch on this date.”

“To be fair,” he responded, a grin of his own on his lips, “I wasn’t going to let you. Maybe next time.”

She just stared at him for a minute before ducking her head and mouthing something that looked like “next time”. It made his heart race a little bit and he suddenly couldn’t wait to see what she would pick for their next date. They hadn’t even ordered dinner yet and he was already thinking about next time.

The waiter brought and poured their wine and took their orders – only a quick glance at the menu was needed for both of them – before disappearing again. They made small talk for a while, chatting about what she was working on and where he had conference calls scheduled for, where he would have to travel to in the coming months.

Once their meals came, they turned their conversation to more personal matters. “My sister’s a spitfire,” he told her with a grin. “And she acts like it. She’s fearless.” He paused to take a sip from his wine glass. “I’m envious of her in that regard. She took over Verdant after Tommy, my best friend, died and I took off to tour Europe, collect my thoughts and emotions. She’s the kind of girl who sees something she wants and goes for it, not taking no for an answer.”

“She sounds great. I mean, we’ve met twice, obviously, but I don’t really know her,” Felicity responded. “But what I do know, I think she definitely got the work ethic of the family.” Felicity winked and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Honestly, though, with everything your family’s been through over the years, I think it’s great that the both of you are so strong and successful.”

Oliver thanked her and took the short break in their conversation to have another bite of his salmon. “Speaking of strong, successful women, what made you choose QC over Wayne Enterprises or STAR Labs or … anyone else with a more technology-based portfolio?”

“Ah, I was wondering if you were going to ask me that,” she grinned. “I actually thought about STAR Labs. I have a friend who works there, actually. But I interviewed with Walter Steele and there was just something about him and the way he spoke about the company that made me willing to take the lower entry-level position. I believe that the people who run companies should have a strong, vested interest in them. I believe they should care about their employees.” She offered a shrug. “Mr. Steele was nice to me.” She paused then grinned. “And the day care facilities were much better at QC than any of the others. Meaning they actually have onsite daycare.”

Oliver nodded, allowing the conversation to pause again so they could both eat more of their meals. He wanted to ask what the story was with Connor, where his father was, but he didn’t think that was first date conversation material. Or second. He wouldn’t stop Felicity if she brought it up but he’d made a vow to himself that he wouldn’t ask her about it.

“You can ask me, you know,” she said, her voice soft. “About Connor and what happened with his father.”

“I wasn’t sure if it was something you’d be willing to talk about just yet.”

“I’m not embarrassed or anything,” she told him quickly. “I love my son and I wouldn’t change a thing about having him in my life. My ex, Cooper, wasn’t ready to be a father. He tried for a while. Was with me through my pregnancy and everything, but once Connor was here, he decided fatherhood wasn’t for him. There was no big custody battle or anything. I haven’t heard from him in a few years but …” She shrugged and sipped her wine. “I’m not sad about that. Connor’s not lacking in male role models.” She paused and then laughed a little. “Even if one of them is Barry.”

Oliver couldn’t help but chuckle at that. He didn’t push the issue any further, didn’t think any other questions he could ask would be appropriate, so he changed the topic to their college experiences. “I have to tell you, the guy I was back in college never would have gotten a date with you,” he told her with a laugh as he rested his utensils on his empty plate. “No way.”

Felicity laughed, a little louder than she probably should have, her head tossed back, and he thought she was incredibly charming. He was definitely under her spell. “The guy you were back then wouldn’t have looked twice at the girl I was,” she informed him. “And not only because … well, I’m a _bit_ younger than you are and I went to college early so … yeah,” she chuckled, “but that aside, I was very different back then. I was a goth. No lie.” He laughed along with her before she continued, “Dark hair, dark lipstick, dark attitude. And let’s just say I was pretty interested in electronic justice and leave it at that.”

He had no idea what she meant but it made him want to look up her time at MIT and see if he could find anything. It would be an invasion of her privacy, though, so he made a promise to himself that he would refrain. “Then I guess it’s good that we’re the people we are now and not the people we were then,” he said as he lifted his wine glass.

“To us now,” she toasted, clinking her glass against his before they both finished off their glasses.

“So,” he said as he settled back in his chair. “My thought was to skip dessert here and get something else after the cruise. Any objections?”

Felicity moved her hand to her stomach and shook her head. “None. I need to work off that delicious meal before I put anything else in my body.” He fought a grin before she groaned. “I’m so sorry. Sometimes my mouth thinks it’s attached to a teenage boy. Or my friend Cisco, but they’re basically the same thing.”

“It’s alright,” he chuckled. “I knew what you meant.” He raised his left hand slightly and nodded to the waiter, who came over to deliver their check. Oliver glanced at the figure – he was sure Felicity would be uncomfortable if he simply handed over his credit card – and then pulled out his wallet. He thanked the waiter and handed over his card before adjusting in his seat. “So, the cruise is going to have a few other people on it. It’s small but not private,” he told her.

“That’s good,” she told him with a nod. “I mean, not good. Okay. I’m not – I don’t mean it wouldn’t be good if we were alone or anything, just that it might be nice to share the experience with other people. Do you know them?”

The waiter returned and Oliver answered as he signed the receipt. “I might. It’s just a regular booking. Maybe _you’ll_ know someone on it.”

“We’ll be able to have privacy though, right?” she asked him. “If we want it?”

“Yes,” he agreed with a smile as he handed the receipt book back to the waiter. “Thank you.” He stood and moved to pull Felicity’s chair out for her before once again placing a hand on her back as they navigated their way through the restaurant. “It’s smaller than a dinner cruise boat but I think they only do parties of ten or fewer so there would be a max of four other couples with us.”

They reached the doors and he let her exit first before handing the valet ticket to the young man waiting there. “That’s good. Intimate,” she said with a smile as she stood beside him. “I’m actually really excited. I’ve never been on the bay before.”

“I haven’t in a long time,” he told her. “Since before the island.”

“Then it’ll be special for both of us,” Felicity said with a bright smile, which made him admire the fact that she could take something that had the ability to turn sad into something positive.

“I’m thinking it would probably be pretty special either way,” he responded softly, smiling down at her. The car pulled up and he opened the door for her before taking the keys from the valet, tipping the kid pretty impressively, then getting in the car. “Ready for our next stop?” he asked her with a smile.

“Can’t wait,” she nodded, looking out the front windshield.

His hand moved to the gearshift and hers moved to cover his and he was positive this was the best official first date he’s ever been on and it was only half over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was quite a bit longer than I expected so I decided to split up the date. I hope you all like it so far! Thank you all for the support! The response has been overwhelming. :)


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because he was sure there would be more dates, if how the first half of tonight had gone was any indication.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, part two of the date! Thanks so much for all of your encouragement! I've recently started an Arrow-related (mostly) Tumblr, so if anyone wants to chat or send in prompts or anything, I'm at chewingonpens.tumblr.com :)

When the got to the docks, Felicity couldn’t take her eyes off the boats and Oliver was pretty sure she was trying to figure out which one was theirs. The gasp that escaped her had him thinking she figured it out based on which ships were lit up.

One looked like a commuter ferry and he was sure she’d dismissed that one. There were two others but one had more of a romantic vibe than the other. Actually, the other looked like it was probably a bachelorette party, if the short dresses and stumbling women who were wearing them were any indication.

“Oliver,” she breathed and he couldn’t help but grin.

“Let me get your door for you,” he said as he climbed out of the car and walked around to the passenger door. He was glad she was letting him do this whole chivalrous thing or whatever it would be considered. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who needed to be catered to or who wanted to be treated like she was fragile but once in a while, he liked to pull out all the stops. Maybe it would be the norm when they went on fancy dates and things would be more laid back when they did other things.

Because he was sure there would be more dates, if how the first half of tonight had gone was any indication.

Once she was out, he pressed the button to lock the car before offering her his elbow. She took it with a smile and they started making their way down the dock. The boat wasn’t rented out or anything so he had no idea if any of the people he knew had purchased tickets. Hopefully not, if only because he wanted to be more of himself with Felicity than he could be if Max Fuller or Carter Bowen or any of the other guys he grew up with decided to try to impress a date.

They were welcomed aboard by a crewmember and Oliver thanked him before suggesting Felicity choose where she wanted to go. There were places for them to sit and a bar inside as well as some open deck space on the first and second level outside. He watched her worry her lip before she headed around to the back of the boat, deciding to stay outside for the time being.

“Do you think it’ll be much longer before we take off? Shove off?” she questioned, her brows scrunched together. “Or whatever it is you do when you’re on a ship, or boat, I guess.” She exhaled and turned to him with a slightly nervous-looking smile. “I don’t know why I’m nervous about this.”

“I’m sure you’re trying to figure out whether you can toss me overboard or not,” he teased, his hands resting on the wood of the railing. “I’ll admit, I’m kind of heavy.”

“You’ll sink faster then,” she replied with a smile and he knew her nerves were lessening at least a little. “Or maybe your superb muscle mass will help you float better. I didn’t mean to say that,” she tacked on quickly, eyes wide.

He chuckled, one hand moving to rest over hers. “It’s okay,” he assured her. “I keep a spare life raft in my pocket in the instance I find myself on a boat one minute and in the water the next.”

It could have been awkward but she laughed a little and he felt like maybe she was the only person in Starling who wasn’t going to walk on eggshells around him when it came to references to the island. Maybe it was because she didn’t know anything that had happened to him, maybe it was because she’d decided he was okay with it so she was okay with it, maybe it was something else entirely, but he was glad things weren’t awkward and she didn’t tense up when he made an off-color comment about something that had the potential to remind him of the island.

He knew he wasn’t better but he was a far cry from the shell of a man who came home and that was enough for him.

It wasn’t much longer before the horn was blowing and they were pushing away from the dock. Another couple had joined them on the back deck and Oliver was relieved that it wasn’t someone who knew him. He was even more relieved when the couple didn’t come over to introduce themselves. Maybe it was rude or bad manners but he didn’t really care. He was on a date with Felicity and tonight was about getting to know her a little better, not about chatting up someone he honestly didn’t care about.

“So,” he said after they were moving at a pretty good clip and she wasn’t watching the water moving behind them, “what made you want to go into computers?”

She turned to him and he was struck by exactly how beautiful she looked in the setting sun. The oranges and purples and pinks made her look even more incredible and he wished they were at a point where he could just lean over and kiss her but he was pretty sure they weren’t there yet. She was speaking, though, so he shook his head just a bit and listened.

“… and I was kind of in a bad neighborhood so I didn’t have friends coming over a lot. My mom worked a lot too but she knew if she put a computer in front of me, I’d be entertained for hours. Honestly, I think she thought I would be playing games but instead, I started taking them apart and putting them back together. I got _really_ good at it,” she grinned. “And once I could do that, I decided I wanted to learn what made the programs on it tick.”

“So you taught yourself?”

“A lot of it,” she nodded. “But I got really good when I went to college. MIT. Which you know because you’ve seen my CV. But, yeah, that’s … I’ve always been good at it. My teachers would give me extra credit, not that I needed it because, you know, I’m kind of a genius. Well, not _kind of_ , I actually _am_ , but when I say it I sound so stuffy and hoity-toity so I’m just going to stop in three … two …”

She took a deep breath and smiled brightly at him and he couldn’t stop himself from breathing, “You’re so beautiful.” The blush that highlighted her cheeks made his heart race. “Sorry. Well, no, I’m not because it’s true but you told me about how smart you are and I countered with how beautiful you are and I don’t want you to think I don’t think you’re smart because you …” He took a deep breath because he realized he was rambling too. “… are.”

“You’re charming,” she told him with a light chuckle. “And it doesn’t offend me when a very handsome man tells me I’m beautiful. Especially when he doesn’t mean to do it out loud.” Her knowing look was enough to make him realize she had him pegged already.

He was in trouble in the best way possible.

“I’d be embarrassed but …” he trailed off with a shrug and a grin. “Would you like to get a drink and head up to the top deck? I believe they have tables and chairs up there.”

“That sounds good,” she agreed and they headed inside. He nodded at a couple that passed them on the way out before sidling up to the bar beside Felicity. He ordered a scotch, neat, and she ordered a glass of red wine and just a few moments after they entered the cabin, they were heading up to the top deck.

There were two women up there, both with a glass of wine, and one of them recognized him. Or so he thought. She stood and made her way over to Felicity and him, immediately saying hello to his date. She reciprocated and introduced them – Gretchen, who had a daughter in Connor’s class – before she bid the other woman a good night and nodded towards a table next to the railing. “Don’t look now but I think you’ve got two sets of eyes on you,” she teased.

“Three, hopefully,” Oliver corrected, grinning in return. At her confused look, he let out a chuckle. “You.”

“Oh! Yes. Yes, you definitely have my attention. All of it.”

He pulled out her chair for her before pulling his chair a little closer to her and smiling. “Good.”

They were quiet for a moment, both just watching the sun go down behind the Starling skyline. “This is beautiful,” she said quietly. “Thank you so much for … well, I guess this date?” Felicity chuckled a little, her cheeks flushing. “That sounds really weird.”

“I knew what you meant,” he promised, winking at her. He thought maybe her breath caught but he wasn’t positive so he didn’t think on it for too long. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. “They do private cruises too so if you still like it by the time we’re done, we can always do it again. Just us.”

“Still like it?” Felicity asked. “Are we … I mean, are there white water rapids or giant great white sharks that are going to come after us?” He must have looked confused because she added, this time with a teasing lift to her voice. “Because aside from some life-threatening event, I’m pretty sure I’m not going to suddenly dislike this part of the date.” Pausing, she knocked her knuckles on the table. “Knock on wood because, you know, I don’t want anything life-threatening to happen.”

“I think we’re safe,” he said with a nod. He, of all people, knew there was a chance they _weren’t_ actually safe but he trusted his team to make sure the city was safe while he spent the evening with Felicity. Thea would probably be mad at _him_ if something ruined their date – even if he had nothing to do with it.

“Good,” she breathed before taking a sip of her wine.

They chatted about his family a little, then hers but to a lesser degree. He wondered why she was tight-lipped about her parents but he figured everyone had things they wanted to keep to themselves and they should be allowed to do that. Maybe one day she would give him a little more information but for now, knowing she was from Vegas, that her mother’s name was Donna and that Felicity had gotten her work ethic from her was enough.

Their voices stayed low and they weren’t interrupted any more during the cruise. They both decided not to drink any more and once the ship docked, they brought their glasses to the bar and exited, thanking the crew as they made their way back onto the dock. He was about to offer her his arm again when he felt her fingers twine through his and he had to admit, that was much better.

“So, ice cream?” he questioned as they approached the car.

“Yes,” Felicity agreed with a smile. She bit down on her bottom lip and it drew his attention. It made him want to liberate it and then kiss her to soothe any sting but he refrained because he wanted to kiss her good night.

He opened her door for her, closing it once she was inside before heading around to get into the driver’s seat. The ride to the ice cream shop was short and he wasn’t exactly happy about it. It was getting late and he knew she would want to be getting home soon to check on Barry and Connor, but he also didn’t want tonight to end yet. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

They both ordered their ice cream cones and then sat at a table in the corner. They were the only ones there for a bit, chatting quietly about a movie Felicity wanted to see. The conversation then shifted to Connor, discussing how he was bright and was getting bored at daycare with the puzzles and books because he picked up on things quicker than most of his friends.

“Guess that happens when your mom is a genius,” Oliver said with a light chuckle.

“His father is no slouch either,” she said in return. “I mean, he’s not as smart as me but …” She shrugged a shoulder and gave him a look that read _what can you do?_ It made him chuckle, which made her smile, and he was pretty sure he’d never met a woman who had him so completely entranced this quickly before.

“I wish I could say I knew how to help with that but I got bored in school too. Not because I was too smart but because I went to a prep school and hated it. My best friend and I always got into a lot of trouble, too. Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn were pretty infamous at Excelsior.”

“I can only imagine,” she chuckled. “I just worry about Connor and what’s going to happen when he gets into actual school. I mean, I know what it feels like to be ages ahead of your classmates and I know what it feels to be in a classroom full of people who are closer to your level but much older. I guess it’s something I’m going to have to think about down the line.”

They talked about some options, Felicity knowing much more than him, and by the time the discussion wound down, their ice cream was gone. They lingered a little longer than was probably acceptable before they both admitted it was probably time for Felicity to get home.

With any other date, he would have been angling for an invite in or trying to convince her to go back to his place. Felicity was different, though, and so were her circumstances. He knew for sure that neither thing would happen.

They drove back to her place with their fingers linked together on his stick shift, a quiet, comfortable silence surrounding them. He made a mental list of everything he ate that night and realized that the ice cream would probably be the dominant taste anyway since it was the last thing he had. And she’d had ice cream too so there was no real risk of a bad kiss.

If she let him kiss her.

He parked the car and ran around to her side, helping her out and not releasing her hand. They walked slowly towards the door, neither wanting the date to be over. It was nearing eleven so there was only a faint glow coming through her front window and he supposed that meant both Connor and Barry were in bed.

“Well,” she said softly, not dropping his hand, “this is me.”

Oliver nodded and gave her a smile. “Yup. That’s – that’s your door. Right there.”

“I had a really good time tonight. And I mean that. I didn’t just say it because that’s what all the women say in the movies and stuff. I really did have a good time. A great time. The – the best.”

“Me too,” he agreed, squeezing her hand lightly and taking a step closer. “I’d like to do it again sometime. Sooner rather than later, if you’re interested.”

“I’m interested,” Felicity breathed and his answering breath of “good” came just before she pressed onto her toes and kissed him.

They mutually released their clasped hands and his rose to gently cup her chin while hers gripped the sides of his jacket. It was slow and soft and while Oliver _really_ wanted to press her against the door and intensify the kiss, he thought she might consider this to be perfect and that’s what he was aiming for.

Felicity pulled back after a moment and he took both of her hands again. They smiled at each other and probably looked like a couple of lunatics but he didn’t care and he didn’t think she did either. Unwilling to stop himself, he leaned in and pressed one more soft, slow kiss against her lips before he stepped back. Their hands stayed entwined for a moment more before she released them and took a step back as well.

“I’ll call you,” he promised, smiling at her, his hands moving into his pockets so he didn’t reach for her again.

“You’d better,” she teased before taking in a breath and reaching for the handle of her door. “Good night, Oliver.”

“G’night, Felicity,” he returned, stepping back again when she opened her door.

She whispered another good night before entering the house and closing the door behind her. He stood on her porch for a minute, grinning like an idiot, before he jogged down the steps and back to his car. For the first time in a really long time, he thought maybe he actually _would_ be able to have it all.

 

 

 


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diggle always said it freaked him out when Oliver spoke about himself in the third person but Connor definitely didn’t know that he was the Green Arrow so maybe it wouldn’t be as weird.

“And then they said he took down this whole group of bad guys!” Connor told him in excitement. “He has other friends who help him out but the Green Arrow is _so cool_. Do you think he’s cool?”

Oliver didn’t really know how to answer that. Diggle always said it freaked him out when Oliver spoke about himself in the third person but Connor definitely didn’t know that he was the Green Arrow so maybe it wouldn’t be as weird. “I think he’s really cool,” he decided, a grin on his face. “Archery’s cool.”

“I wanna learn how to shoot a bow and arrow,” Connor revealed, his voice soft. “Just in case something bad happens, I’ll be able to protect my mom. Barry says he can come help too but he’s kinda always late so I don’t think he’d be able to get here fast enough.” Connor paused and took another bite of his burger. “Do you think the Green Arrow would help if something bad happened to me or my mom?”

Oliver had no clue why Connor was worried about something bad happening to himself and Felicity but he made a mental note to have Thea set a trace on them just in case. Sure, it was an invasion of privacy but he cared about Felicity and Connor and yeah, he wanted to make sure the Green Arrow _would_ be there if they ever needed him.

“I’m sure if he knew you were in trouble he would. What’s got you thinking about that though? Is something wrong?”

“No,” Connor denied, his eyes moving to where Felicity was getting their milkshakes from the counter. “I just wanted to see if you thought he’d watch out for me and Mom too.” He paused. “And maybe Speedy too. She’s little like me but she’s a really good superhero.”

He grinned at that, biting into his burger as he thought about how pleased Thea would be to know that she had an admirer as well.

“Well _I_ think Spartan is pretty cool,” Felicity said as she returned to the booth, sliding in next to Connor and dolling out the milkshakes. “Every woman loves a man who’s tall, dark and handsome.”

“You can’t even see his face,” Oliver pointed out. “He wears a helmet.”

“Fair enough,” Felicity said with a shrug. “I still wouldn’t mind being rescued by him.”

She was trying to get a rise out of him, he knew, and he hated that it was working. John was married, happily so, and he and Felicity were happy too. They’d been seeing each other for a couple of weeks and while they didn’t have as many date nights as either of them would have preferred, things were going really well. He got to see her laugh and smile, got to talk to her about her past and a little bit of his. He wanted to know everything about her, the good and the bad, and he thought he had a chance of learning it all.

Felicity was so different from the other women he’d been with. She was strong in her own sense, loyal, but that was where the comparisons stopped. He’d been a foolish boy when he first fell in love with Laurel and a broken, desperate man when it happened again. Helena and McKenna were both so _wrong_ that, looking back, he wondered why he even tried. Sara was the closest he came to finding the love that the living part of his heart was seeking but they were too broken and they had the same pieces missing, she told him, so they would never really fit right.

Watching Felicity smile and laugh and tease her son made him think that maybe she was the one who would fit right. Felicity was good, intellectual, dedicated. She was nurturing and beautiful and he knew that she probably loved with her whole heart. Part of him knew that he wanted a space in there, wanted her to love him too.

It was too soon for those thoughts, though, so he pushed them away and focused on his girlfriend and her son.

“Hey, so, I _might_ be able to get a couple of tickets to the Rockets game this weekend,” he said leadingly, his winning grin firmly in place. “You guys know anyone who might be interested in going with me?”

Connor was out of his seat and standing on the fake leather of the booth, his hand in the air chanting, “Me, me, me!” within a second of the words being out of his mouth. He couldn’t help but laugh even as Felicity shot him an exasperated look before making her son sit down and behave himself. “Sorry, Mom,” the boy mumbled before looking up to Oliver. “Do you really think we can go?”

“I think it’s up to your mom,” Oliver said with a shrug and an imploring look in Felicity’s direction. They hadn’t made any plans for the weekend yet so he was hoping she wouldn’t mind the slight spontaneity of the baseball game. It wasn’t like he couldn’t get them for another weekend if she said no but he was really hoping she would say yes.

“Please, Mom, _please_ ,” Connor all-but begged. “I’ve never been to a baseball game before. _Please_.”

When Connor turned a winning grin on his mother, Oliver decided to follow in the kid’s footsteps and do the same.

“That’s _so_ not fair,” Felicity mumbled. She took a deep breath and let her eyes move between him and Connor before she finally relented. “Yes, okay. We can go to the game this weekend. But _you_ don’t get to explain the game in a patronizing manner. I may not know much about it but I bet I’ll be able to figure out the statistics on each player as the game goes on.”

Connor told his mother that was _boring_ before he started chatting away about how excited he was and what he wanted to eat at the game and asking about seats. Oliver could barely keep up but if letting the kid chatter away about something he was this excited about kept that smile on Felicity’s face, he would do it forever.

 

* * *

 

“I’ve never been this close before,” Connor whispered in awe as the three of them made their way down to their seats right next to the Rockets’ dugout.

“I thought you said you’ve never been to a game before,” he replied, a laugh in his voice.

“Well, yeah.”

Shaking her head, Felicity smiled and wrapped her arm around his forearm and then threaded their fingers together. “Thank you for doing this. He hasn’t stopped talking about it since you brought up the game on Monday. He had a two hour long Skype session with Barry and Cisco just to make them jealous. I finally had to text them to tell them that’s what it was about. They just kept acting excited for him.”

“It’s no problem, Felicity. I love baseball and now I have an excuse to come out to a game.”

He didn’t mention that he went to school with one of the guys on the team. That was going to be a special surprise for Connor when Ellis was able to come over and meet them. It was still early so the other team was taking batting practice.

They all settled into their seats and Connor was stuffing his face with popcorn when his phone started to vibrate. “Sorry,” he said as he pulled it out of his pocket and checked the screen. “Sorry, I need to take this. I’ll be right back.” Felicity smiled and nodded before pointing out the way the batter was swinging and saying something that had to do with physics and math. It was cute and he wanted to kiss her but Captain Lance’s call took precedence.

“Captain,” he answered as he took the steps up towards the concourse two at a time. “What can I do for you?”

“ _You can tell me where the hell you are, kid. I’m down in your command center and it’s empty. Where is everyone?_ ”

“Day off, Captain. I’m at the ballpark with Felicity and her son. I think Laurel was going to get some training in with Ted Grant. Lyla’s in Budapest so I’m sure John’s around. What’s going on?”

“ _Ghosts. Calls are coming in from all over the city. They haven’t done anything yet but I know something fishy’s going on. You heard anything from Darhk lately?_ ” the older man asked, a tinge of desperation in his voice.

“Nothing,” Oliver answered with a frown. He glanced back down to their seats and saw a player exit the dugout and head for Connor and Felicity. “I’ll keep my phone on but I’ve got to go. Let me know if anything happens. Right now, I can’t do anything. Thea hasn’t been able to get a location on Darhk in almost a week. Maybe his ghosts are just looking for their boss.”

“ _Yeah, I don’t know. I’ll call you if something happens. You make sure you answer, Kid._ ”

Oliver hung up without responding, jogging down the stairs to get back to his girlfriend and her son. “Ellis Packard,” he said with a grin, extending his hand over the stunned little boy’s head. “Long time no see.”

“Look at you. Ollie Queen all grown up,” the third baseman laughed. “Never thought I’d see the day where you were married with a kid.”

“Oh, we’re not married,” Felicity corrected quickly, breathlessly. “We’re dating but we’re not married. Connor’s my son. That’s – that’s Connor,” she said, gesturing towards the boy who was staring at his mother like she was the most embarrassing person on the planet. “But we’re not … married.”

Oliver laughed quietly and placed a calming hand on Felicity’s shoulder. “Connor’s never been to a game and I’ve been meaning to come back. I haven’t been here since …”

“Tommy,” Ellis finished with a nod. “I get it. Good to see you making some new memories with a very pretty lady. And a future all-star, of course,” he added. “Hey, you wanna …”

Ellis was cut off when all of the electronic banners and screens flickered off and then back on, with only a fuzzy screen in its place.

“Greetings, baseball fans! I hope you’re enjoying this _lovely day_ at the ballpark.” It was Damien Darhk’s voice, Oliver knew, but there was no face so the people wouldn’t have any idea what was happening.

Oliver reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, pressing redial and letting it sit on the ledge in front of them. Hopefully Lance could hear what was happening.

“Unfortunately, you won’t be seeing a baseball game today. In fact, many of you may never see another game again.” The stadium was silent but for the light chuckle of Darhk’s voice coming through the speakers. “Can you hear the tick-tick-tick of the bombs that have been placed around the stadium? I wonder how much time you have before they blow. Tick-tick-tick … boom.”

The static returned to the stats and pre-game videos but that didn’t matter. Everyone in the stadium was screaming and running, trying as hard as they could to get out, to get away, to save themselves. These people all needed Team Arrow and he couldn’t do a single thing about it because he was stuck in the crowd, unable and unwilling to leave Felicity and Connor to fend for themselves.

“This way!” Ellis shouted, reaching forward and grabbing Connor to lift him over the wall. “Down into the locker room.”

Oliver jumped over the barrier and grabbed for Felicity, pulling her over as well. “We’ll get out through the player’s entrance,” he promised, grabbing her hand and holding it tight. “But we need to run. Give me Connor.” He took the boy from Ellis and pointed towards the locker room. “You need to get everyone out. Everyone. Go,” he shouted to his former classmate. “Felicity, we need to go. Now. Run as fast as you can.”

She nodded and took off running down the tunnel just in time for a loud bang from above and then the ceiling caving in between them.

“Felicity!” he screamed at the rocks, though he was sure the only one who could hear him was Connor, who was too busy screaming “Mom!” at the same time. “Felicity, please!” he shouted again once the rocks had mostly stopped. “Felicity, are you there? Where are you?”

There was a long silence and then something that sounded like a cough. “Connor! Oliver!” He let out a long breath and Connor squeezed him tightly. “Is that you? Are you okay?”

“We’re here. We’re – we’re okay. Are you?” he called back, wishing he could find a way through the rubble.

“I’m okay. A little banged up but okay. You have to – you have to find another way out before another bomb goes off. Meet –“ She stopped and Oliver panicked for a second before she continued. “Meet back at my house, okay? I’ve got to – there’s someone hurt and I need – we need to help them get out. So go. I’ll meet you there.” She paused again before shouting, “Connor, baby, I love you so much!”

Connor replied in kind, his voice shaky. “I’ll see you real soon, Mommy.”

“Yes you will,” Felicity replied, though he could hear the uncertainty and fear in her voice. “Real soon. You be good for Oliver, okay?”

“I promise!” the little boy called back. “Cross my heart.”

“Oliver,” she began.

“We’ll see you back at your place,” he said, cutting her off. There was no time. He needed to get Connor out of there. He also needed to find someone to watch him so he could put on his suit and go after the son of a bitch who did this. “Be safe, Felicity.” She didn’t respond so he figured she’d already started moving. “We’re gonna get out of here,” he promised Connor. “You ready?” At the boy’s nod, Oliver turned in the opposite direction and headed back out onto the field.

Just in time for another bomb to go off, which brought the outfield second deck down onto the first. He wanted to curse so badly but he refrained. “Which way?” he murmured to himself but Connor answered, explaining that it looked like the bombs were going off in order so the quickest and safest way out would be through the other dugout.

Yeah, Connor was definitely Felicity’s son. Without waiting another minute, Oliver took off towards the dugout, sending up all the pleas he could think of that his team was already on their way and that one of them would be able to figure out how to get Connor home safe and allow him to suit up at the same time.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You know Speedy?” the little boy asked, eyes wide. When Oliver didn’t answer, Connor stepped closer. “How do you know Speedy?”

Getting back to Felicity’s house was easier than he thought it would be. Darhk knew who he was, knew he was the Green Arrow, and he’d been terrified the whole trip back that he and Connor would be stopped. It scared the crap out of him and he looked over his shoulder every time he got the chance. His sole objective at the time had been getting Connor back to his house, safe and sound. With that objective met, he needed to find a way to fulfill his second.

But he’d left his phone on the wall at the stadium. No one could get in touch with him. _Shit_.

“Connor, bud, I need to use the phone. I left mine at the stadium. If you want, you can put the TV on or something. I – I guess. If it’s not gonna … I mean, you don’t have to watch the news but I don’t know if you’re gonna be able to avoid it. But, you know …”

“It’s okay, Oliver,” Connor said, his voice soft. “I’m just gonna watch out the window for my mom. The phone’s in the kitchen.”

Oliver knew that but he was pretty sure Connor was just trying to be helpful, to do _something_ , and Oliver wasn’t about to take that away from him. He replied with a quiet _thank you_ before moving into the kitchen and grabbing the cordless. Frowning, he realized he didn’t know Lance’s phone number so it would either be Thea or John. And he was too likely to call his sister Speedy so he went for his partner instead.

When he answered on the second ring, Oliver blew out a breath. “I’m with Felicity’s son,” he said lowly. “She’s – we got separated at the stadium.”

“ _You were there?_ ” John asked in shock. “ _Are you okay? Felicity? Her son?_ ”

“Connor,” Oliver added. “His name. And she’s not here. It’s just me and Connor.”

“ _Which means you can’t get out in the field,_ ” John sighed. “ _Oliver._ ”

“I _know_ ,” he hissed in reply. “But I can’t just leave the kid here alone. And I don’t think I could come up with a good excuse if she walked in right now. Or one to get someone else here. I don’t – _shit_ , Digg. I don’t know what to do. He’s just a little kid.”

There’s silence on the other end of the line and Oliver can’t decide if that’s a good or bad thing. John isn’t one to hesitate to spell out the hard truths. He would be out there if he could but with Felicity not back, he can’t be. Not without spilling his secret to the kid of the woman he’d dating.

“ _Figure it out. Everyone else is all hands on deck.”_

Without responding, Oliver hung up and started pacing the kitchen. He needed to be out there with his team. He needed to be hunting Darhk. He needed to be anywhere but where he was.

“I can call Barry,” came a small voice from a few feet away. “And then you could go.”

The boy sounded sad and scared and Oliver really was torn. This was his girlfriend’s son and if he left him here, even if it was with a friend, he knew he would lose her. But if he didn’t, there would be no way for him to catch Darhk. He would let his city down. “Connor …” But he didn’t know what to say.

The boy shifted, his eyes on the ground. “She should have been back by now,” he said softly. “My mom.”

This was what Oliver had been afraid of for all of those years. No meaningful relationships meant not having to make the choice he was faced with now. He loved his city; he would do whatever it took to make sure his city was safe. But there was a little boy in front of him who was scared that his mother was missing – or worse – and Oliver knew there was no way in hell he was going to leave the kid to fend for himself.

“Traffic’s probably bad, bud,” he said softly, placing a hand on Connor’s shoulder and directing him back towards the living room. He glanced over his shoulder once more, the phone in his line of sight, before he made the decision to let his team handle it on their own. They always told him that he did too much, that he never let them do enough. Now was their chance.

It shouldn’t have been, though. He should have been out there with them. If Darhk got away, that would be on his head. All of the deaths today would be on his head. He’d let himself get distracted and the city was paying the price.

“Maybe,” the boy allowed, climbing onto the couch.

There was something about the way Connor was acting that gave Oliver pause. It was like he was more worried about his mother than was warranted. She’d talked to them, said she was okay. The next bomb hadn’t gone off anywhere near where they were. “I’m sure your mom will be back soon.”

“Are you gonna leave?” Connor asked immediately. “Because when you were on the phone it sounded like you wanted to leave really bad.”

He didn’t know why he felt a little heartbroken at the boy’s statement. It was _true_ ; he _did_ want to leave. He wanted to be out in the field with his team. He wanted to find Darhk and make him pay for what he’d done. But another part of him knew he needed to be right where he was. Connor needed him and Felicity would need him too when she got back.

His eyes glanced at the clock and he realized that maybe Connor had been onto something when he said she should have been back. They’d left the stadium more than two hours ago. They’d been back at the Smoak home for at least forty-five minutes. And there had been nothing from Felicity. Granted his phone was probably buried under a pile of rubble by now so even if she’d tried to call, he would never know.

There was only one way he could be sure she was okay or know if she wasn’t. “I gotta make another call, bud. How about you pick out a movie and we’ll watch it when I’m done?” Connor nodded and headed for the DVDs so Oliver made his way back into the kitchen and dialed his sister. She could try to get a GPS location on Felicity’s phone. And if not, she could search the traffic cameras for her. Right now, he was willing to do whatever it took.

“Hey, it’s me,” he said as soon as she picked up. He was silent as she railed at him for being in danger and asking where he was and why John was leading the team and he couldn’t bring himself to give her a direct answer. She would know anyway based on his next request. “Can you ping Felicity’s phone?”

“ _Ollie?_ ” she questioned, her voice quiet and a little shaky. “ _Shouldn’t her phone be with her? And shouldn’t she be with you?_ ”

“We got separated,” he breathed. “Connor and I are at her place. _Please_ , Speedy. Please see if you can locate her? However you need to.”

“ _Gimme a sec._ ” He heard a keyboard clicking and let out a breath as he waited for her to run a search. She was getting much better with the computers but he couldn’t help wondering what it would be like if his sister was in the field more often and someone else was manning them. Someone like his missing girlfriend. “ _Starling Med_ ,” she told him breathlessly. “ _Someone just checked her in. Broken arm and lacerations. You should go._ ”

Oliver let out a long breath and let his eyes slip shut. “I owe you big, Speedy. _Thank you_.” He hung up and turned to go tell Connor they had to go to the hospital because he mother was there but he didn’t have to go very far. The little boy was standing there in front of him, his mouth dropped open.

_Shit_.

“You know Speedy?” the little boy asked, eyes wide. When Oliver didn’t answer, Connor stepped closer. “How do you know Speedy?”

Oliver had no idea what to say. He’d never been confronted with a kid asking him about his secret. Did he admit it? _No_. But he couldn’t just dodge the question, could he? He could certainly try. “Connor, we need to go to the hospital. My friend said your mom is there and she has a broken arm. We should be able to get there pretty quick.”

Connor didn’t say anything, just kept his eyes on Oliver as he made his way to the door. “Come on, bud, we need to get to your mom.”

It took the boy a minute to follow but when he did, he paused in front of Oliver and looked up at him. “You should drop me off then go,” he said quietly, his eyes darting around to make sure no one was listening to them. “You need to help Speedy.”

He didn’t leave when they got to the hospital, though. He’d done his best to convince Connor that he’d always called his sister Speedy and that she was the one he was talking to. And it was all true. Except Connor also happened to have stumbled upon his secret. He hadn’t been asking _Thea_ for help, not really. But there was no way he would let a child in on his secret. Especially not when his girlfriend wasn’t in on it yet.

“Mom!” Connor shouted, darting into an ED bay.

Oliver followed and let out a breath when he saw Felicity sitting on the bed with a sour expression on her face. Without pause, he walked over and pressed a kiss to her lips. “You okay?”

“I don’t understand why I’m here,” she pouted, wiggling her left arm around. “It’s not that bad.”

If it had been him, he probably would have agreed. But looking at her, he knew it was probably worse than she was letting herself think it was. He could see bruises forming, could see a couple of cuts, and he could tell by the way her right arm was wrapped up that it wasn’t a simple break. “When did that happen?” he asked softly as he nodded to the arm.

Felicity bit her lip and looked over at Connor before letting out a sigh. “When the concrete came down in the tunnel,” she admitted. “It didn’t really hurt at the time but once I got out of there, it was pretty bad. Pain-wise.” He nodded for her to continue, his eyebrows lifting. With another sigh, she continued, “It’s broken in two spots. They’re going to cast me and give me some pain meds and then send me on my way. I don’t even know why I got a room,” she admitted. “There are people worse off.”

“Because your picture was in the paper five days ago,” he told her with a one-shouldered shrug. “Because you’re my girlfriend. And before you say anything,” he cut her off, “I don’t like the weird special treatment either. But it worked this time because you’re getting the medical attention you need and then we’ll be able to get you home and someone else can have your bed. So I think you should be a good patient and let the doctors do their jobs.”

She grumbled, obviously not pleased with his logic, and then turned to Connor. She had done an initial sweep when they arrived, making sure her son was in one piece, but now she took a moment to really examine him. Oliver was proud to say there wasn’t a scratch on the boy.

“Thank you for protecting him,” she said softly. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there.”

Connor looked over at him with slightly narrowed eyes and he wondered if he’d only let Oliver believe that he thought he was telling the truth about Thea. It made him more nervous than it probably should have. The kid thought the Green Arrow and Speedy were heroes after all.

“Oliver did a good job. He called his sister and she helped him find you because he didn’t have his phone anymore. And guess what! He calls his sister Speedy!”

_Damnit_.

He could practically hear Felicity’s neck snap as she turned her full attention onto him. Her eyes were searching, calculating, and he was pretty sure he was seconds away from getting busted. This was definitely not the way he’d envisioned clueing her in on his big green secret. He knew he would have to tell her at some point because he wanted a real relationship with her and hiding his secret identity wouldn’t be a good way to build trust. But he didn’t think he was ready to tell her now.

Luckily, an orthopedist came in and she let Connor pick out her cast color – red, for Speedy, he said, even though he’d debated telling her to get the green one, his eyes on Oliver the whole time – and then he was taking Connor to the gift shop while Felicity’s arm was set.

He was sure he was hallucinating when he heard a muffled scream coming from her room but he wasn’t going to take any chances.

By the time they got back to her room, her arm was set and in a cast and she was completely loopy. He took the discharge instructions and signed for her before he wrapped an arm around her and led her out of the ED, Connor on her other side.

He got Connor settled into the back seat of his car before he helped Felicity into the front seat. He buckled her in and was about to pull back and shut the door when she grasped his shirt and held it tight. “Green Arrow’s my _real_ favorite,” she slurred before shutting her eyes and relaxing back into the seat.

_Shit_.

He shut the door and headed over to the driver’s side, climbing in and starting the engine. He glanced at Connor in the rear view mirror and sighed. He was pretty sure once Felicity had her wits about her again, they were all going to have to have a long conversation about his extracurricular activites.

 


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So … you want to tell Felicity,” Digg started, sitting and folding his hands on the table in front of him.

He was thanking his lucky stars when they got back to Felicity’s house because she was mostly passed out and definitely not in any position to question him about being the Green Arrow. Connor was focused on his mom, helping Oliver get her into the house and then into her bedroom. Oliver didn’t look around like he wanted to because he thought it was _maybe_ some kind of invasion of her privacy; she hadn’t exactly invited him in.

He and Connor got her settled before heading back out into the living room, pulling Felicity’s door mostly shut behind them as they went.

“Do you need to go?” Connor asked with no preamble. “I’ll be okay now that Mom’s home and I can call Barry to come sit with me. I don’t know how he gets here so fast but he can be here in, like, an hour. I can be okay ‘til then.”

Oliver swallowed, knowing he had to go but not wanting to leave Connor alone when Felicity was so out of it. He didn’t know what Darhk knew and if there was even a _slight_ chance that he knew Oliver was seeing Felicity, there was no way he could leave.

“It’s okay, bud,” Oliver said on an exhale. “I’m just gonna hang out here.”

Connor opened his mouth to respond but there was a knock on the door. With a glance at the little boy, Oliver knew that he wasn’t expecting anyone to be there. With all the craziness in Starling today, he figured everyone would be “Connor, go into your mom’s room and close the door. Don’t come out until I come and get you. Not even if I call you, okay?”

The boy nodded and headed towards the back. Oliver waited until he heard the door snick closed before moving into the kitchen to grab a knife. Felicity had a peephole for the door but he knew if it was one of Darhk’s men hoping to ambush him, they would do it when he got close enough to be hit and knocked off balance. That wasn’t an option, especially not with Felicity being out of commission and Connor being in the house. He had to make sure he was able to protect them at all costs.

With the knife gripped tightly in his hand, he slowly made his way to the door. The knocking started again, more insistently, and he wanted to call out and ask who it was but instead, he silently made his way closer, not even breathing as he leaned forward to look out the peephole.

Letting out a breath, he felt his shoulders relax as he saw who was on the other side. He turned the blade behind him and unlocked the door before opening it to their visitor. “Lyla,” he said in relief. “How did you find us?”

“Thea pinged your girlfriend’ phone,” she said, stepping into the house with Sara in her arms.

He peered out the door, looking left and right, before closing the door and locking it behind him. He glanced at Lyla as she stood in the living room before returning the knife to the kitchen and then heading back to Felicity’s room. Connor was standing protectively in front of his sleeping mother, his body taut and ready to strike. “It’s okay, Connor. You can come out. It’s a friend.”

Connor glanced back at his mother before nodding and walking back out into the living room. Oliver could tell he recognized Lyla but couldn’t place her. But Sara started clapping and it looked like he remembered her.

“Connor, this is Sara’s mom, Lyla. You remember playing with Sara at the park, right?” Connor nodded and moved to sit on the couch. Lyla put Sara down next to her and handed over a small bag. Sara pulled out a coloring book and crayons and turned to Connor with a smile, asking if he wanted to “lolo”, which was how she referred to coloring. It never failed to make Oliver smile.

“Oliver?” He turned to look at Lyla, who was nodding towards the kitchen. He glanced at the kids before nodding and following her. “I have your suit and gear in the back of the car,” she said softly. “I’ve got the kids and I’ve got my weapon, just in case. They need you out there.” His reluctance must have registered on his face because she sighed. “Oliver, they _need_ you. The kids will be fine. Get changed and get out there.”

“I just … let me go tell Connor, okay?” She gave him an exasperated look but held her hand out towards the living room in acquiescence. “Hey, bud. Can I talk to you for a second?”

Connor nodded and stood up, making his way around the couch to Oliver. “What’s up?”

Oliver glanced over his shoulder at Lyla before crouching down to get onto Connor’s level. “I need to go for a little bit. But Lyla and Sara are gonna stay. Lyla used to be in the army and now she works for the government so you and your mom are _ultra_ safe, okay? Can – is that okay?”

Connor stared at him for a minute before glancing at Lyla, who he assumed was smiling reassuringly since Connor smiled a little as well, then glancing back at his mother’s room. His gaze lingered there for a few beats before he looked back at Oliver. “It – it’s important?”

Oliver nodded seriously. “Very.”

Connor watched him for a few more seconds before nodding. “Okay. But – come back, okay? Please?”

“I promise,” he said with as much feeling as he could. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

He didn’t wait for Connor to say anything else before standing and heading towards the door. Lyla tossed him the keys to the van and he snatched them on the go, exiting the house with a singular purpose: get to his team.

He changed in the back of the van and stuck his comm in. “Speedy, Spartan, Arrow’s online.”

_“Oh thank God,”_ his sister grunted before letting out a yell and making contact with something. Or someone. _“We need you back at the stadium. I haven’t seen dark but the place is overrun with Ghosts.”_

“I’ll be there in ten.”

He really wished he had his bike but there was no time to go back to the lair so he hopped in the driver’s seat and started the van, flooring it away from the curb. He didn’t think the cops would worry about stopping him but he hit the comm and asked someone to let Lance know he was on his way and to not let any units get in his way.

Things were okay between Team Arrow and the SCPD but some of the newer guys didn’t really understand that. They were wet behind the ears and trying to prove themselves to their superiors. One nearly shot John a few weeks back and he was put on desk duty by Lance as punishment.

When he got to the stadium, the team looked like they had everything close to under control. Sliding on his quiver and grabbing his bow, he climbed out of the van and fired at the nearest Ghost.

_“I swear to God I cannot wait until you’re climbing out of a mini van to get to scenes,”_ John said with a laugh before Oliver saw him land a debilitating blow to one person and kicking another.

“You’re the one … you know what? Let’s just take care of this so I can get back to … you know.” He nocked another arrow and fired, then fired three more in quick succession. “Speedy, your six!”

He heard more than saw his sister take out the threat and he was thankful that she was able to handle these guys. They were all good and well trained. And he was infinitely grateful none of them were on mirakuru or had the same magical powers as Darhk.

The fighting went on for another twenty to thirty minutes but the team finally prevailed. They were exhausted and battered but they counted it as a victory.

“Uh oh,” Laurel said as she grabbed his face and turned it to the side. “You’re going to have a pretty good bruise in an hour or so.”

Oliver groaned, rubbing a hand down his face and wincing when he hit the sensitive spot. “Great. So not only is my girlfriend high, she’s going to see this bruise and want an explanation. Oh, and her son knows who I am because I was stupid and called Thea while I was looking for Felicity.”

“Are you serious?” his sister asked, her voice mixed with alarm and surprise. “How did he figure it out?”

“Called you Speedy,” he groaned.

When Diggle started laughing, everyone turned to stare at him. But after a few seconds, Thea was laughing and then Laurel was too and he really just wanted a hole to open up so he could fall down it and be out of this situation.

“Man, that’s … does Felicity know?” John asked.

“Well, I _think_ so … but before she could ask me about it, they filled her up with pain meds so they could set her arm and put it in a cast. I don’t know if she’ll remember when she wakes up but – but I think I should probably tell her, right?”

“Ollie,” Laurel sighed, “it’s not just up to you.”

“Laurel, her son knows. I can’t ask him to lie to her. And – and I don’t know that I’m ready but –“

“Maybe we can talk about your love life somewhere else,” Thea said as she glanced around. “We’re kind of out in the open here. Let’s go back to base and regroup and then we can talk about how Ollie’s about to be outed by a five year old.”

When they were all in agreement, Thea and Laurel hopped onto Thea’s bike and he climbed back into the van with John in the driver’s seat. They didn’t speak on the way back to base and when they got there, they all split up to change back into their street clothes.

After grabbing a bottle of water and a Powerbar, Oliver moved over to the conference table that was set up and waited for the rest of the team. It was true that him telling Felicity affected all of them but he could also tell her that he wasn’t in a place to tell her _their_ secret. It was the argument he was ready to go with when Laurel approached and apologized for shooting him down before.

He was kind of stunned and didn’t respond until Thea and John joined them as well.

“So … you want to tell Felicity,” Digg started, sitting and folding his hands on the table in front of him.

“I – not really,” Oliver confessed. “I mean, obviously I would tell her at some point. Things are going really good and getting, you know, pretty serious. But, I don’t know. I don’t think I’m as ready as I could be.”

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing that you’re telling her when you’re not totally ready,” Thea replied with a shrug. “I mean, what if you never are? Putting it off is …”

“I know,” he sighed. “I do. I just … what if … what if it’s something she’s not willing to put up with?”

“Wouldn’t you rather know now?” his sister asked. “Instead of getting to the point where you’re shopping for diamond rings and then having her say she’s not into the whole leather and arrows thing?”

The table fell silent as they all took in the question. Oliver knew what she was getting at and he couldn’t deny that it made sense. He had strong feelings for Felicity and he was sure they would only get stronger as their relationship advanced. And Thea had definitely made a point when she asked what would happen if he was never ready. He couldn’t imagine being with Felicity for a long time and not knowing his secret. It wouldn’t be fair to her.

And, again, he knew Connor knew his secret and he didn’t want to ask to boy to lie to his mother.

“I’m going to tell her,” he said with a confirming nod. “Whenever she’s not, you know, high on pain pills. But this means – I mean, we need to …” He swallowed, his heart racing. “She and Connor …”

“No matter what happens, we’ve got their back,” Digg promised. Oliver nodded and blew out a breath before standing. “I’ll drive you over. Lyla’s there anyway.”

The two men left and didn’t really talk on the ride aside from Oliver telling Diggle where to turn. They stopped on the way so Oliver could get a new phone, a prepaid that would be replaced when he had some free time, but it didn’t take long and soon they were back at Felicity’s house.

He knocked on the door and called out that it was him and John and in seconds, Connor was whipping the door open and wrapping his arms around Oliver’s waist. “Hey, Connor. Everything okay?” he asked softly, his hand moving down to rest on the boy’s dark hair.

“I’m just glad you came back,” came the answer, though the words were muffled due to his face being pressed against Oliver’s stomach. “I was scared.”

“Hey,” Oliver responded quickly, squatting down to Connor’s height while John walked around him and greeted his wife and Sara. “Lyla wasn’t going to let anything happen to you or your mom. Never.”

“No, I was worried about _you_ ,” the boy answered. “Because of the bad men.” He looked over Oliver’s shoulder and tugged him in, closing the door and locking it on the knob. “Are they going to come here?”

“We took care of the bad men,” he promised. “No one is gonna come here to hurt you, okay? I promise.” It wasn’t a promise he could really keep but he had to do something to make the kid feel better. And he would sleep on the front steps every night if he had to just to make sure they were okay.

“What about you?” a quiet voice called from a few feet away. “Are they going to come here to hurt you?”

Oliver stood slowly, his eyes locked on Felicity’s. “I –“

“You’re hurt,” she said, cutting him off and walking closer. Her hand came up to cup his cheek, her thumb rubbing gently over his bruise. “Oliver.”

“Can we –“ He looked over his shoulder at John and Lyla, who quickly said their goodbyes, promising Sara that she could see Uncle Oliver again soon. He said a quick goodbye and thanked Lyla before turning back to Felicity. “I’ll answer any question you have,” he promised, “as long as you feel up to it.”

Felicity wiggled her fingers out of the bottom of her cast and sighed. He could tell she was a little groggy but she looked lucid enough to decide if she was ready for the conversation she seemed to know was coming. “Just let me – I’m thirsty.”

“I’ll get you some water. Go, uh, sit down. If you want. It’s – it’s your house.”

“Come sit with me, Mom,” Connor requested softly, his hand wrapping around her good one and leading her over to the couch. “Want a cookie?”

He tuned them out as he went about pouring Felicity a cold glass of water and then bringing it out to her. He went back into the living room and handed it over, waiting for her to tell him where he should sit. He was too nervous to think about anything but how their conversation was going to go. He wanted it to go well but based on her first question, he didn’t know if it would. She had every right to be nervous and worry about the consequences of her relationship with the Green Arrow.

“You can sit on the couch with me,” Felicity said after taking a sip from her water glass. When he did, she turned and angled her body towards his. She glanced over at Connor before turning her attention back to him. “You’ll answer any question I ask? Honestly?”

Nodding, Oliver folded his hands together. “Anything I can answer, I will.”

Felicity was quiet for a moment, obviously tying to decide what to ask first. He figured it would be the obvious, straightforward question of whether or not he was the Green Arrow, but she surprised him by asking if he was hurt anywhere but his cheek.

“Uh, I’m probably going to have a couple bruises on my ribs but nothing else. I don’t think. I didn’t … there wasn’t a lot of hand to hand on my part.”

She nodded, sipping from her water glass again. “So … you’re the Green Arrow?”

“Yes,” he answered without pause. He didn’t want to give her a chance to think he was going to try to hide it or spin it. “I’m the Green Arrow.”

“I knew it!” Connor shouted, jumping up and pumping his fist in the air. Both he and Felicity looked over at him and he blushed, sitting back down and mumbling, “Sorry.”

He smiled at the boy then turned back to Felicity with a deep breath. She was watching him closely before asking her next question. “Are Connor and I in danger because of our relationship with you?”

“Maybe,” he answered after a beat. “I don’t know. We’ve – our – the bad guy, the one who coordinated the attack today, hasn’t really gone after any of our families. It’s just me and Thea now but John has Lyla and Sara, you know? Laurel’s got a boyfriend and a dad and as far as I know no moves have been made against them. But I swear I’ll do everything I can to protect you and Connor.” The _no matter what happens after this talk_ went left unsaid but he knew she knew what he meant.

“This is a lot,” she said. “And I have – I have so, _so_ many questions that I can’t – I don’t know what to ask, how to ask. I just …”

“I understand,” Oliver responded. And he did. He didn’t really know what to do at that point. He didn’t want to stay if she wanted him to leave but he didn’t want to leave at all. “This isn’t something any of your other boyfriends have told you.” He paused, offering a nervous but teasing grin, “Right? There aren’t any copycats trying to steal my … identity?”

“No,” Felicity said, a little laugh in her voice. “This is definitely my first superhero relationship.”

He smiled, his own questions circling his mind. He didn’t know if he wanted to ask the one that kept pushing at his tongue. Before he let himself think about it, he asked, “Is that what this still is? A relationship?”

Felicity jerked back in surprise. “I – did you think …? Oliver, did you think I was going to want to stop seeing you because you’re a hero?”

He glanced over at Connor, who was watching both of them in nervous fascination, before turning back to Felicity. “I didn’t know,” he answered honestly. “I mean, I kept a pretty big secret from you. And it’s not – I mean, you asked about your safety. I don’t want you to … I don’t know. I want to be with you but I don’t want you to be scared all the time. I know it’s a lot to ask but …”

“Oliver,” she cut him off, “I worry every day anyway. I’m a mom; it’s in the job description. And yeah, the secret thing isn’t the best but I can see why you did. And I get that you won’t be able to tell me everything but … but I’d like you to tell me what you can. Why you started doing this, things like that. Can you – _will_ you do that?”

“I will,” he promised, his hands moving to hold hers. “I’ll tell you everything. Even things that probably aren’t going to make you like me very much. But I can’t do it all at once and …” He glanced at Connor from the corner of his eye and then refocused on Felicity. “And not right now. Is that … okay?”

Smiling softly, Felicity cupped her hands on his cheeks and leaned in to kiss him. “Yes,” she answered. “That’s okay.”

 


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With all trails to Darhk running cold, the team makes a decision that forces Oliver to do something he never wanted to do.

In the weeks after his admission to Felicity and Connor, Oliver revealed more of himself and more of his past. He started at the beginning, telling her who he was before he left on the Queen’s Gambit. He told her about his relationship with Laurel, his fear of commitment, taking Laurel’s little sister with him on the yacht. He explained the boat going down and thinking Sara was dead. In a long conversation full of stops and starts, cold glasses of water and making sure Connor wasn’t around, he told her how his father really died.

She knew Sara had lived and then he’d thought she died again and how she came back to Starling last year. He told her about their relationship and how they both knew deep down that it wasn’t going to end with them together but that neither was willing to say it for months.

He told her Sara died for real and it was Speedy who did it. He explained his complicated relationship with Malcolm Merlyn and how Speedy wasn’t herself when it happened. He wanted to spill it all but he knew those were Thea’s stories to tell. And while Felicity and Connor knew Speedy and Thea were one in the same, Oliver refused to give away anything that she should explain herself.

He told her about Slade Wilson and Ra’s al Ghul and how his life was anything but easy and normal but that she made him want that. He told her that he used to think that he couldn’t have a life with someone that he truly cared about because of the life he led. And then he looked her in the eye and told her he didn’t think that anymore.

That was the first night he stayed at her house instead of heading home in the wee hours of the morning. It was just sleeping because Connor had been waking up in the middle of the night and neither of them wanted to try to explain anything other than Oliver staying there. It was the best night of sleep he’d had in recent memory and when they’d woken up in the morning, he’d told her so before kissing her goodbye and going home to change.

In the weeks since telling Felicity his secret, he learned one of his own: Barry Allen had powers. Not magical powers like Darhk but super speed. Barry called himself a metahuman, a word Oliver refused to say, and had showed up when he needed to protect some girl who was immortal or something. It made Oliver realize he would never be going to Central City again.

Felicity didn’t know about Barry’s secret so Oliver promised not to tell. He never asked how Barry found out about him but he had a feeling it had something to do with a five year old who was enamored with his mother’s immature friend and wanted to be cooler. He wasn’t mad about it because now he knew about another kind of threat that he could keep an eye out for, but he also knew that he would have to sit down with Connor at some and make sure he knew how important it was to keep the secret.

Almost every night they weren’t together, Felicity texted to see if he was okay. She knew he liked to patrol on nights when there wasn’t something big happening. She told him it worried her, which he understood, so when he was spending a night in or at work or at some other function, he would call her before and then text her good night after. Most of the time, though, he spend the night at her house.

The first time they overslept and Connor found him there, he’d been confused. Apparently Felicity had never had a boyfriend sleep over before. It made his chest puff out and earned him a punch on the arm from his girlfriend but it was worth it. He’d had questions – of course – and they’d answered them in a kid-friendly way. Connor had accepted their words and asked Oliver what he wanted for breakfast and then the day went on like any other.

Oliver had never been so happy or content before.

“You haven’t heard I word I’ve said.” The deep voice brought him out of his musings and forced Oliver to shake his head and offer a contrite smile to Diggle. “Figures. Daydreaming about your girlfriend again?”

“None of your business. What were you saying?”

“Thea’s hit a dead end with the searches she can do for Darhk. It’s been over a month since the attack on the stadium and the trail’s gone cold. We’ve got nothing to go on now and it’s … Oliver, we’re going to be blindsided with another attack if we can’t find him or figure out his next move.”

Oliver blew out a breath and put his hands on his hips. “Speedy’s good with computers and if she can’t figure it out, it’s either too deep for us to find or not there at all.”

“There’s another alternative,” Laurel said as she joined Oliver and John at the conference table. “One that you’re going to hate but could really be a game changer.”

Furrowing his brows, Oliver looked at his teammate and tried to suss out what she was thinking. It didn’t come to him so he sighed and asked.

“Isn’t your girlfriend good with computers?”

“Absolutely not. I mean, yes, she is, but no, we’re not involving her in this. It’s too dangerous for her,” he replied, his eyes narrowed at Laurel. “Not to mention Connor. So I get where you’re coming from but I’m saying no.”

“Shouldn’t that be _her_ decision?” Laurel shot back, not backing down. “Should we at least take the idea to her and let _her_ decide if it’s too dangerous?”

“No,” he denied. “If you want to get computer help, call Barry and ask him to send his computer guy over.”

“Cisco’s an engineer, not a computer wiz,” Thea said, finally weighing in. “I … Ollie, I’m with the others. I know you don’t want Felicity involved,” she said, cutting him off before he could protest again, “but if she can help us, which I think she can, it could save lives.”

“She doesn’t even know who you guys are. Or, well, she doesn’t know you’re the ones behind your masks.”

“You haven’t told her?” Laurel asked in surprise.

“I mean, she knows who Speedy is, of course, and she knows my history with you and who you are to me,” he said to Laurel and John. “But she doesn’t know about the Black Canary and Spartan being you guys. And I thought you were the one who was telling me that it’s not just my secret.”

“It’s not, Ollie, but we’re all ready to let her in. And I think we need her. I think without her, Darhk stays hidden until it’s too late.”

Oliver sighed and let his eyes travel from Laurel to Thea to John. They looked like they’d discussed this and were finally ready to bring it to him. He had to admit, he had considered asking them the same thing they were asking of him but he’d dismissed it because of the danger. And because of Connor. “And her son? His dad isn’t in the picture and there’s really nowhere he can go but here. And don’t say Lyla,” he directed to Digg, “or A.R.G.U.S. He’s her son and she doesn’t know the agents. Maybe she knows Lyla a bit but … I can’t ask her something like this. It’ll be too much.”

“Why don’t you let her decide that?” John asked in what Oliver assumed the other man considered a soothing tone. “And if she says no, she says no. I don’t think she’d break up with you for asking her to help save the city.”

“Just think about it, Ollie,” Thea said with a sigh and a hand on his arm. “Maybe she’ll say yes.”

Oliver was quiet for a beat before sighing. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

For three days after that, Oliver tried to work up the courage to ask Felicity if she would help. He would start but chicken out before he was able to get through it. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she could be what the team needed her to be. In fact, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would do everything she could to help them. And she would be behind the scenes, which was marginally safer, but he couldn’t help but worry.

Probably because he fell in love with her somewhere along the way and now all he could think about was keeping her and Connor safe.

He briefly considered trying to pull away from her and forcing her to break up with him. It wouldn’t work, though, because he wore his emotions on his sleeve when it came to her and he was pretty sure she would figure out what was going on and call him on it. Her mind was one of the things he loved most about her but he couldn’t help but curse it right now because he couldn’t think of a way to get out of asking for her help.

When he got to her house on the fourth night, he was shocked to see Connor with a bag packed and a perplexed smile on his face. “I’m going to have a sleepover,” he told Oliver. “With Danny.”

Oliver had no idea who Danny was but he was pretty sure what the sleepover with Danny meant. In the few months that he and Felicity had been together, they’d gotten as far as some heavy petting but nothing more than that. Tonight, it appeared, that was going to change.

That more than anything else made him realize he needed to talk to her about joining the team. He didn’t want to sleep with her with the question looming between them. Honesty hadn’t ever really been his policy, not until Felicity, but this was one thing he knew he couldn’t keep to himself anymore.

Ten minutes later, Connor was being ushered out the door by a tall redhead who didn’t hide the fact that she was running her eyes over him in appreciation. He smiled and arched a brow and once she was gone, he turned back to Felicity. “Friendly, isn’t she?”

Felicity just laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him in for a slow, deep kiss. When she pulled back, she lifted her left shoulder in a shrug. “I mean, I can’t really blame her. You’re kind of unfairly attractive.”

It was Oliver’s turn to laugh. “I feel like saying _thank you_ would make me kind of conceited.” He gave her a soft kiss before pulling away and taking her hand. “So, I smell something incredible. Are you cooking or reheating?”

“Cooking spaghetti casserole,” she told him. “Should be done in about fifteen minutes.” She lowered her voice a bit and looked up at him from under her lashes. “Any idea of what we can do while we wait?”

It would have been so, so easy to grin and take her to bed. There was no doubt in his mind that she was angling for something similar but he didn’t want to do that until after they spoke about her helping out his team. Instead of letting his nerves get to him, he offered her a grin. “The first thing that comes to mind will take a bit longer than fifteen minutes,” he promised with a wink. “So I think we should go with the second and talk.” He took a deep breath and motioned towards the couch. “If that’s okay with you.”

Felicity’s brows drew together but she nodded, moving into the living room and taking a seat on the couch. He let himself take her in, knowing that this was yet another turning point in their relationship. It seemed like they probably had more of those than the average couple. Then again, they definitely weren’t what anyone could consider normal or average. “What did you want to talk about?”

Sighing, he nodded to himself before sitting beside her. Oliver reached out and took her hands, his mind spinning over how to broach the subject without sounding like a complete moron. “I want to talk to you about, um, what I do.” Her eyes narrowed and he huffed out another breath. “As the Green Arrow,” he added. “About what my team does.”

Felicity nodded though she still looked a bit confused. “Okay. What about it?”

Oliver felt so out of his element that words weren’t coming easily. He wished he could just open his mouth and say the right thing; he thought that Thea might have been a better choice to have this conversation. She wasn’t as invested in his relationship with Felicity as he was. “We’re not just all muscle,” he told her, probably unnecessarily. “A lot of research goes into our confrontations. Or, well, not our actual confrontations but in the days leading up to them. With the bad guys.” He winced and let out a breath. “I’m really not good at talking about this stuff,” Oliver told her with a disappointed frown. “I’m probably not even making sense.”

“Not really,” she answered with a smile as she squeezed his hands, “but I’m willing to listen to whatever it is you’re trying to say and then figure it out. It seems really important.”

“It is,” he answered. “It’s so important. It’s just … not something I can easily … I don’t really …” Oliver pulled his right hand from hers and wiped it down his face. “I don’t know how to talk about it.”

“Oliver,” Felicity said softly, ducking her head so she could meet his eyes, “whatever it is, just say it. I promise I won’t overreact or … anything like that. Whatever you have to say, I won’t walk away.”

He wished he could trust that statement more than he wished for almost anything else. He couldn’t, though, because he was sure she wasn’t thinking he was going to ask her to join the team. Felicity knew his past, knew what he’d done in the name of his mother, his best friend, Shado. She knew he had a darkness in him but he was positive she had no idea that the darkness was thick enough to ask the woman he unexpectedly fell in love with to join his crusade and help track down a dangerous man with the use of magic, the man who was responsible for the cast on her arm.

“Oliver.”

“Damien Darhk,” he said quickly, his eyes catching on hers. “He’s the one – the voice from the stadium, the man my team has been trying to stop for months. He’s – he’s dangerous. As I’m sure you remember,” he added, nodding at her arm. “But he’s been laying low for a little while and my team, specifically my sister, who works on the more technical end, can’t seem to find him. All of our trails have run cold. We can’t find him, which makes him all the more dangerous.”

Felicity’s eyes widened before they narrowed. Oliver was sure she figured it out but was shocked, and not unpleasantly so, when she bit out, “You’d better not be trying to find a way to tell me you want me to leave town.”

“No! No,” he assured her. “That’s – that’s definitely not what’s on my mind. I mean, I won’t lie and say it wouldn’t be safer for you and Connor but no. That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Actually,” he hedged, “it’s kind of the opposite.”

“The opposite? So you want me and Connor to stay in town? Well, okay, pull my leg,” she said with a teasing grin and a tilt of her head.

He couldn’t hold back his responsive smile. This woman was beyond adorable sometimes. It made him want to protect her all the more. It was that thought which propelled him to be able to ask her because he realized that she was in the best position to find a way to make sure they _all_ stayed safe.

“I do want you to stay in town,” Oliver answered with a nod. “And while you’re staying in town, I’d like to ask for your help.” Her smile slipped away and he felt his stomach flip but he couldn’t hold back the words any longer. He knew he had been stalling for too long as it was. He likened this part of the conversation to pulling off a band aid: it could either be slow and painful or quick, stinging and over with.

“What are you talking about?” Felicity asked him when he didn’t continue. Her eyes were sharp and focused and not moving from his own. It was now or never and while he really wanted it to be never, he knew the real answer was now.

“We’d – me and the rest of the team – we’d like to ask for your help.”

“How would I be able to help?” she asked, her voice slower and with a bit of confusion wrapped in.

“Your computer skills.” Once he started, he found he couldn’t stop. “You’re incredibly skilled with technology. My sister is good but I know, and she does too, that she’s nowhere near the level you’re at. We’d like you to help us track down Darhk so we can end the threat once and for all.”

Felicity was quiet for a long moment. He watched her throat working and noticed how tightly she was clenching her jaw. It made him nervous but it felt good to know that she was honoring what she said before and promising not to freak out about their conversation. “You want me to help you find a man so you can kill him?” she asked lowly.

Oliver didn’t know how to answer that without sounding woefully unprepared for the question. “Honestly, Felicity? I don’t know if he _can_ be killed. But I _do_ know that we have to find a way to stop him before anyone else gets hurt or worse. I told you before that since my best friend died, I haven’t been a killer unless it was my own life on the line. When I find Darhk, because I _will_ find him, I don’t know what it’s going to be like. I don’t know what else he has in his arsenal. But I do know that I’m willing to die to protect this city. I also know that if it comes down to me or him, well …” He trailed off, his eyes moving to glance out her window for a few beats before looking back to her. “I have a lot more to live for than I ever have and I’m not willing to give that up easily. Give you and Connor up easily.” He took a breath and squeezed her hands. “If there’s a chance he can be captured and put in prison, I will do everything I can to make sure that happens. But if it’s him or me, I’m going to pick me and then come back to you.”

Felicity licked her lips, never looking away from him as she considered what he’d said. He knew she was considering it by the way her brows furrowed slightly every few seconds. For whatever reason, he was calmed by it. She was taking the time to actually think about his offer and decide whether or not she was willing to do it.

The silence between them stretched for what felt like several minutes but was more like two before Felicity closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. He knew that meant her decision had been made. He was nervous but was also glad that it was about to be over. He’d been agonizing over this conversation for too long and it was finally reaching its climax. And no matter what her answer was, he knew it wouldn’t change how her felt about her. Yes or no, he was still going to be in love with this incredible woman at the end of the day.

“So, I have to admit,” Felicity began, “that I didn’t expect _this_ to be a topic of conversation. In fact, I was pretty positive that you wanted anything _but_ for me to get involved because it was dangerous. And judging by the look on your face, I’m not wrong about that.” He didn’t know what face he was making but he was sure it didn’t display as much comfort as he was hoping for. “And because of that, I know this wasn’t easy for you to ask. It really means a lot to me that you did.” She tightened her hold on his hands and he began bracing himself for her answer. At this point, he didn’t know whether he wanted her to say yes or no. “And honestly, if I had thought you would say yes, I would have offered to help as soon as I found out who you were.”

“I – _what_?”

Felicity smiled a beautiful little smile and shrugged on shoulder. “Oliver, of course I’ll help. Any way I can. I just … need to make sure Connor is safe. Should I send him to stay with my mother?”

Oliver was flabbergasted and unable to react in any way other than letting his mouth hang open in surprise. He really couldn’t wrap his mind around what he’d just heard his girlfriend say. Not only was she willing to help, she’d been wanting to help all along. And now she was suggesting she send her son away while she did so. He knew how hard that must have been for her to even consider, let alone put in words. “I … what?”

Laughing a little, Felicity squeezed his hands. “Come back to me, Oliver. I need you to tell me what you need me to do.”

He took a breath and shook his head to clear the fog that had settled into his brain. “I don’t think you need to send him away,” he said first. “It’s up to you though. It’s up to your comfort level. I don’t know how Darhk would figure out you’re working with the team so I don’t see him targeting you or Connor since he hasn’t already. But I wouldn’t feel comfortable having him down in the bunker while we’re working either. We can figure something out for him.” He licked his lips and let out a long breath. “So you – you really want to help?”

“Of course I do, Oliver. I have a very unique skill set and if that’s going to help capture the man who tried to kill so many people, I’m going to use it.” She was quiet for a minute before asking, “So when do we start?”

Oliver, still stunned, just blinked at her for a moment before a slow smile slid across his lips. “Tomorrow,” he answered, leaning towards her. “We start tomorrow.”

His lips brushed hers just as the timer on the oven went off. Of course.

Felicity’s giggles grew fainter as she stood from the couch and headed back into the kitchen. He didn’t follow immediately, instead taking a moment to let his body calm down and settle into the warm acceptance that his girlfriend was part of his team. Tonight would be for them and tomorrow they would get to work.

And soon, he decided, he would tell her he loved her.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Felicity on the team, they work toward confronting Darhk and finally meet him in battle.

Two weeks of late nights in the bunker had Felicity frazzled and angry with herself. Oliver wasn’t sure but he thought Felicity had a high level of confidence that she would find Dahrk within minutes of getting her hands on the equipment. Of course, she took three days to upgrade the systems, muttering about her dying soul and how horribly the machines had been treated.

It would have been cute if they weren’t in a semi life or death situation.

“Felicity, maybe we should call it a night,” he said calmly, his voice low. “Come back fresh tomorrow. With your mom in town, you’ve got the coverage for Connor.”

“Can’t,” she murmured, her fingers flying over the keyboard, “I think I’ve got something.”

Oliver’s eyebrows shot up as he leaned in, hand on the back of her chair, focusing on the screen. It was a bunch of code and he had no idea what it said but he trusted Felicity when she said she thought she had something. “Okay,” he breathed as he pushed himself away. “I’ll hit the training mats for a little bit. If you’re done first, let me know. If not, I’ll be back.”

She didn’t answer and Oliver couldn’t hold back his chuckle. It shouldn’t have surprised him that she was all in on her project but it almost did. She was focused and intent and it made his heart twist, made it very hard not to say those three little words.

He wandered back into the training area and stripped off his shirt before quickly changing into a pair of shorts. He figured it couldn’t hurt to do a little cardio. He broke down and bought a treadmill about a week ago because he couldn’t bring himself to leave Felicity alone in the bunker if he felt like taking a run. This way, he would be here if she needed him and he could look up and see her anywhere in the main area of the bunker.

He set the treadmill on the cardio setting and started, letting his mind wander.

It didn’t make any sense that Darhk was able to dodge them so easily. It made him wonder if he was missing something. Obviously he was or the whole thing would be over but it still bothered the hell out of him. He’d thought that Felicity would have Darhk in a matter of hours, maybe days since she’d decided to overhaul their equipment. She hadn’t though and it was frustrating him as much as it was frustrating her. He knew the team felt the same way.

He lost himself in his run, his body pushing harder and faster. Darhk wasn’t a particularly fast guy but he had magic and Oliver wanted to be able to handle any physical confrontations. He needed to be prepared for anything.

“Are you _kidding me_?” Felicity shouted. It snapped Oliver out of his mind and caused him to stop the machine. It was kind of abrupt and he didn’t have his land legs under him but he hurried towards her nonetheless.

“What is it?” he asked a little winded. “What did you find?”

“He’s got someone wiping him from …” She motioned at the computer and he had to assume that she meant surveillance and all other sorts of media. “And I’m running a program to try to triangulate the location of said tech wizard but there are a lot of roadblocks. I mean, I’m relatively certain I’m smarted than this person, and better at what I do, but it’s not going to be as quick as I want. I could always overwrite and manually enter new lines of code but – what? Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked him.

Oliver couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. “You’re just really beautiful when you’re off on a rambling tangent. I’ve always thought that but this one was … wow.” He leaned in and pressed a light kiss to her cheek. “Just wow.”

“Shut up,” she muttered as she returned her focus to the screen. Her fingers flew over the keys, her brow furrowed as her shoulder tightened. She was silent for a few minutes before her eyes widened and she started muttering, “No no no no,” quickly and under her breath.

“Felicity? What is it?”

“I know this,” she murmured as she typed even more furiously. “I know this code. I know this signature. I know … I know this.”

It was Oliver’s turn to furrow his brow. “You do? Is that … I don’t know if that’s good or bad. You need to tell me if it’s good or bad.”

“Both,” she answered absently as she leaned closer to the screen. He didn’t know if that was helping anything but he wasn’t about to call her on it. “Good because I know how to trace it back now. Bad because of who I’m ninety nine percent sure is behind the other screen. _Crap_.”

It was cute the way she tried not to curse at all because she didn’t want to slip in front of Connor but at this moment, he thought she probably could have excused herself from saying something much worse. Because he knew the face that had popped up on his screen. “Is that …?”

“Yes,” she moaned, crossing her arms on the desktop and flopping her forehead against them. “It’s exactly who you think it is,” she said, voice muffled.

“That’s Cooper?”

“Mhm.”

“Your ex?”

“Yup.”

“Connor’s dad?”

“Same guy.”

He let out a breath and put his hands on his hips. “Well shit. This just got a lot more complicated.”

“You think?” she asked, her voice sharp as she looked at him. “God, I should have known he would find some way to screw things up for me.”

“Hey,” he said quietly, his hand moving to her back to rub soothing circles. “We’ll figure it out. I mean, you’re better than him, right?”

“Of course,” she answered and he had to grin a little because she sounded so offended that he actually asked. “By a lot.”

“Then I’m not worried. You can find him and then find Darhk.”

Felicity took a breath and then pursed her lips. “That’s true. _But_ … he might also be able to tell it’s me. And if that’s the case, I need to get Connor out of town as quickly as possible. And I need to get him somewhere Cooper wouldn’t look.” She ran a hand over her face. “I don’t know what to do. Who to call. But now that I know it’s Cooper, I need to get Connor somewhere safe.”

Oliver was quiet for a minute, his eyes shut as he considered what their options were. He wanted to say he would fly Connor and her mother – and _her_ , if she would let him – anywhere in the world they wanted to go and let them stay there until it was all over. He knew she wouldn’t leave, though, and he knew she would worry that her ex would figure out that he’d done that, trace the tickets and go after them. The second option was a little scarier but probably their best bet.

“I think I might know someone who can help with that.”

 

* * *

 

Oliver kept his eyes on Felicity as she took in the sight of Barry Allen in his Flash suit. His mask was off and he looked a little terrified about what Felicity would say to him. Frankly, Oliver couldn’t blame the guy. Felicity was a formidable foe under the best of circumstances and he was sure this was on the opposite side of the spectrum.

“Felicity?” Barry asked cautiously.

She held up a finger and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. She blew the breath out and then looked at Barry. “So many things make so much sense now.”

Everyone in the room let out a breath and Oliver couldn’t help but smile. He’d somehow managed to find the one woman in the world – or so he assumed – that didn’t freak out about her boyfriend being a vigilante or her friend being … whatever Barry was. He definitely wasn’t calling him that stupid m-word that Barry insisted on.

“You’re not mad?” Barry asked. “Because I thought you might be mad.”

“I’m not mad,” she assured him.

“Whew,” the speedster laughed. “I totally owe Connor ten bucks now.”

Oliver knew the second the words were out of the younger man’s mouth that he was in trouble. He watched Felicity’s eyes widen and before she could unload, he stepped quickly to her and placed a calming hand between her shoulder blades. “How about we save the well-deserved tongue-lashing for after Barry brings Connor back from Central City? That way, you won’t have to keep looking over your shoulder and worrying about Darhk and you can focus completely on _him_.”

Barry looked betrayed but Oliver just shrugged. Sure, Connor knew about the Green Arrow first but he hadn’t kept it from Felicity for so long after. And he was all for Felicity getting into it with Barry. He was sure it would be pretty entertaining to watch.

“Okay,” she replied, her eyes still narrowed and focused on Barry. “But it’s happening. You’re not getting off the hook even if you _are_ doing me a huge favor and protecting my son. Got it?”

“Got it,” Barry answered, though Oliver knew he was hoping she was so happy or relieved when everything was over that she wouldn’t yell at him.

“Good. Now … you’re going to take him to Central City?”

Oliver tuned out the details in favor of discussing security measures with Joe West, the cop Barry lived with and the man who would be in charge of protecting Connor. They discussed locking windows and keeping him off the internet – _no Facebook or anything else_ , Felicity had said at some point. Oliver wasn’t sure they had to warn Detective West of that but he knew his girlfriend would be mad if he didn’t.

“Don’t worry, Oliver,” Joe said lowly. “We’re gonna take good care of him. Connor’s been like family since the beginning. We won’t let anything happen to him.”

“Thank you,” he breathed as he looked over to see Felicity preparing Connor for their trip back to Central City. He was waved over and nodded to Joe before returning to his girlfriend’s side. “Hey, bud, you about ready?”

“Yes,” Connor answered and Oliver could tell he was trying to be strong. “I’m ready.”

“Good,” he replied, crouching down and opening his arms. The boy didn’t hesitate, immediately allowing Oliver to wrap him in a tight hug. “I’m gonna protect your mom,” he whispered. “No matter what. Okay? I won’t let anything bad happen to her.”

Connor nodded and held him tighter. They stayed that way for a few minutes before the little boy pulled back and leveled him with a heavy look. “See you soon, Oliver.”

Nodding, Oliver forced a smile. “As soon as possible.”

Connor then moved over to Felicity and Oliver took a step back so he could compose himself. Connor meant so much to him and he knew he would do whatever it took to make sure he was safe and that his mother would be hugging him again as soon as possible.

He stepped over to Barry and shook his hand, eyes hard and expressive. He didn’t say anything but Barry swallowed and nodded anyway before going to change into his street clothes. He had run to Starling but would be riding back with Joe and Connor for a little extra protection. As scrawny and goofy as Barry was, knowing that there would be two grown men protecting his girlfriend’s son made him feel a lot better about the whole situation.

Felicity hugged Joe and then Barry, once he was back, and then held onto Connor for several moments, whispering to him and nodding when he did. Finally she let him go and stood back, taking Oliver’s hand in her own. They both stood silently and watched the other go and once they were out of sight, she turned to him. “Let’s catch these SOBs.”

Nodding, Oliver pulled her in for a hug. “We will.” He pressed a kiss to the side of her head and held her for a minute before stepping back. “Let’s get to work.”

 

* * *

 

It took a week for Felicity to finally get a solid trace on the trail that led back to Darhk’s hideout and another five days for the team to form a solid plan to infiltrate. Felicity and Thea, now thick as thieves, spent all of their time coming up with plans and contingencies and failsafes. Laurel worked on her hand to hand with Diggle and Oliver made sure all of their weapons were in the best condition they could be before a confrontation.

When the time came for the team to go after Darhk, Felicity spent a few moments speaking privately with each member of the team. It was quite a sight to see and it made something happen to his stomach when he watched her hug Thea and Laurel tightly and kiss Diggle on the cheek. John told the women to head up to the van, following them out and allowing him to have a moment with Felicity.

She smiled softly at him, her hands moving to slowly slide over his leather-covered chest. “I’m going to be with you the whole time,” she promised, her hand moving up to touch the comm link in her ear. “You can do this. I believe in you.”

He smiled down at her, his hands resting on her hips. “Thank you,” he whispered before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “We couldn’t – we wouldn’t be here without you.”

She smiled and pulled him in for a hug. His eyes closed as he held her tightly. “Felicity,” he whispered, “I …”

She pulled back immediately and met his eyes. “Tell me when you get back,” she said, cutting him off. “Don’t – don’t tell me now. Tell me when you get back.”

He was silent for a long beat before nodding. “Okay,” he breathed out. “I’ll tell you when I get back. But for now, I gotta go.”

She nodded and pushed to her toes to kiss him on the lips. “Go save the world, Oliver Queen. And come back to me. No matter what it takes, come back to me.” She reached up and pulled his hood over his head. “I’ll be here waiting.”

He smiled and kissed her one more time before turning away and heading out to join his team. Speedy was on her motorcycle and he straddled his own. Diggle and Laurel were in the van, the engine running. “Keep your lines open,” he directed. “Nobody is out of touch. You copy, Felicity?”

“ _Roger_ ,” she answered, “ _or copy. Whichever is proper. Yes. I will keep all the lines open._ ”

He didn’t want to chuckle but he did. Thea joined in and the other two followed. It was a light moment before the battle and he was thankful that it happened. He had no idea who would make it back to the bunker, though he had to hope that it was all of them.

 

* * *

 

Oliver had thought defeating Slade had been hard. The man had held Laurel, tried to draw him out using his ex-girlfriend. He and Sara worked out a plan to get her out once he got to the warehouse Slade was holding her. It had been dicey and there had been a blade all too close to Laurel’s neck for far too long but they all made it out alive.

He’d also thought tricking his friends and using Malcolm to bring down Ra’s al Ghul was hard. He’d lost the most important surviving friendship when Diggle walked out on the team. He’d been lost and alone and wishing like hell that he’d had _someone_ he could talk to about everything; he’d wished for Sara since he knew she would understand and wouldn’t judge him.

But this was by far the most important confrontation of his life. They had a solid plan and a strong team, he had a woman waiting for him when all was said and done. She hadn’t told him she was okay with him killing Darhk if it came down to it but she had told him to come back no matter what. He had something to live for, some _one_ to live for, and he was going to do everything in his power to get back to her.

The team was focused and in sync on their way in, breaking off as Felicity directed them towards different areas of the hideout to ensure Oliver could get to Darhk. Diggle and Laurel spent the majority of the time fighting, taking out the ghosts Darhk had brainwashed into following him blindly.

Thea made Cooper her target. She tracked him down and found him easily, typing away on a computer. Sweat was pouring down his face and Thea claims his eyes were vacant. Felicity, as quietly as she could, requested Thea do everything she could not to kill him. He wasn’t as strong as she was and couldn’t put up much of a fight but Thea promised that she only knocked him out and tied him up, telling Felicity that he would still be alive when the police arrived after the end of their mission.

The small, emotional _thank you_ that he heard over the line both broke and buoyed his heart. She was such a good person and he loved her all the more for it.

Finding Darhk was easy but defeating him was difficult. The team joined him and held off or put down the remaining ghosts while Oliver went toe to toe. Darhk was strong but there hadn’t been enough deaths in recent days to keep him invincible. He was quick though, and a trained assassin, so the battle was hard and bruising. He took kicks and punches and felt weaker than he ever had before as Darhk pinned him to the ground.

He could see the cold determination is his adversary’s eyes as he pressed down on Oliver’s throat, his knee digging into Oliver’s thighs. The others were too occupied with the seemingly unending wave of troops attacking them and trying to protect their leaders.

He wouldn’t say that Felicity pulled him out of his disadvantage but he did know that it was her voice that brought him back to himself. She was yelling something to Laurel and he heard her voice and it was like he remembered what he was fighting for and it wasn’t a moment too soon.

In a split second, his hands shot up to block the arrow that Darhk was aiming at his heart. He twisted his hands and grabbed the arrow, pushing up and through the throat of his attacker. He turned his head so the blood didn’t drip onto his face but he didn’t loosen his hold on the arrow until Darhk’s body went slack and Oliver could shove him off. He pushed himself to his feet just in time to see Diggle knock out the last of the ghosts.

The whole team was panting and battered but they were all whole and it made Oliver’s breath catch in his throat. “All good?” he asked, his eyes scanning all of them.

“All good,” Thea answered, Laurel and Diggle nodding their agreement.

“SCPD is on their way,” Felicity told them over the comms.

“Let’s get out of here,” Laurel said. “Go get cleaned up and get a full night sleep for the first time in …”

“Forever?” Thea offered with a laugh as Diggle motioned for both of them to walk ahead of him.

“Coming, Arrow?” John asked, pausing, one eye on the women and one on him.

He didn’t answer, his eyes on Darhk’s body, praying that he stayed dead.

“ _Oliver_ ,” Felicity called quietly over the comm link. _“Come home._ ”

With a deep breath and a small smile, Oliver nodded and headed for the exit behind Diggle, Laurel and Thea. “We’re on our way. See you soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, sorry for not putting more detail into the battle. I'm not very comfortable writing it and I would rather leave out details like that than make it unenjoyable. Second, that's it! That's the last chapter. Next will be a short epilogue. Thank you so much for going on this journey with me. I've been bitten by the writing bug so I may even be able to put out the epilogue soon.


	13. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The return to the bunker and Oliver gets to finally say the words to Felicity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, thank you all SO MUCH for sticking with me through this story. I know there's a lot more that I can tell but I feel like this part is done. After rereading this epilogue, I realized that there's a very good chance that I'll be writing more in this verse in the future. 
> 
> You all are wonderful and I appreciate every read, kudos and comment!

Upon their return to the lair, Felicity greeted everyone with a hug. She whispered something to Thea that he couldn’t hear but Thea nodded and held Felicity close for a moment before releasing her.

And then it was Oliver’s turn and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and holding her tightly. He pressed his face against her neck and closed his eyes, exhaling in relief. Darhk was dead, Cooper was in custody and he was back in the bunker with his team. With his _whole_ team.

“I’m really glad you’re okay,” she whispered and it made him hold her even tighter. “You _are_ okay, right?

“I’m okay,” he breathed before pressing a light kiss against her neck and pulling back. “I’m okay.”

“Oliver,” Diggle called from the med bay as he put some poultice on Thea’s ribs, “you should still let me check you out.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, “in a minute. Lemme get changed, okay?” John agreed and Oliver bent to kiss Felicity lightly before heading off to get his street clothes and change back.

His head was spinning and his heart was still pounding but he felt accomplished. The big threat had been neutralized. He wasn’t naïve enough to think that they would be in the clear going forward but for now, the word would spread through the underground that Darhk was dead. And he hoped word got through Iron Heights that Team Arrow wasn’t to be messed with. He didn’t expect it would, though, because most of the people inside had been put there by him and his team.

After he changed, he took a moment to digest what this really meant. There was time to breathe. He could take some time and maybe take Felicity and Connor on a vacation, a long one, where they could relax and just spend some time together.

The word family popped into his head and he forcefully pushed it out because it was too early to be thinking in those kinds of terms. He hadn’t even told Felicity that he was in love with her yet. He wanted to keep doing this the right was and jumping ahead wouldn’t accomplish that.

“… will bring you back in a couple of days,” he heard Felicity saying as he stepped back out into the main room and headed for Diggle. “I love you so much.” She looked up and met his eyes, smiling slightly. “I’ll tell him and you can talk to him tomorrow.” There was a pause and she chuckled. “Alright, baby, I’ll tell him. Now be good for Uncle Joe and _go to sleep_. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Love you, Connor. Bye.”

He paused on his way to Diggle, bending to kiss his girlfriend lightly. “All good?” he asked.

“All good,” she responded. “Now get yourself fixed up and then we can go home.”

His heart rate spiked at her words and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He had been staying over her place more often than not but this was the first time either of them had referred to it with that simple four-letter word. “You heard the lady, Digg,” he said with a grin as he pushed himself up to sit on the med bay table. “Fix me up so I can go home.”

Diggle made a low whip noise and then chuckled before he started looking over the bruises and cuts Oliver acquired during the fray. His eyes followed Felicity as she, Thea and Laurel got together, chatting quietly. He watched as Laurel reached out and held Felicity’s hand for a minute before hugging Thea and then calling out that she was heading home and not coming back for at least forty-eight hours _unless the world is ending. Again_. He raised his hand in parting then winced because it pulled on his ribs. “Night, Laurel. Great work tonight.”

“I think I’m gonna head out too,” Thea pronounced, her voice tired and slightly strained.

“Not yet you’re not,” John called out as he grabbed the sutures and began closing a small but deep wound on Oliver’s arm. “First, I’m gonna drive you and second, you’re not leaving me alone with these two.”

She rolled her eyes but gingerly lowered herself into Felicity’s chair. “You’re such a baby, Digg.”

“Nope. Just don’t wanna watch them try to flirt right now. I’m too tired and too sore and I haven’t seen my wife in days. Which reminds me …”

“Already shot her a text,” Felicity interjected. “They’ll be home in the morning. Sara was sleeping and apparently she’s a real bear if she’s woken up.”

Diggle groaned and Felicity laughed. “Connor was like that too. He’s _slightly_ better now but I think that’s only because he finally has a good example around the house. I’m _definitely_ not a morning person.”

“Around the house, huh?” Diggle asked and he watched as Felicity turned a pretty shade of pink before mumbling something and walking away.

“Yeah,” Oliver answered, sliding off the table after Diggle dressed the wound. “I’ve been, you know, there a lot.”

“How often is a lot?” It was asked conversationally but Oliver had to wonder if John hadn’t adopted a big brother-type relationship with Felicity.

“A few times a week before Connor went to stay with Detective West. Every night after.”

“So things are getting serious then? Because, Oliver, the last person you practically lived with was –“

“Sara,” he finished with a small smile. “We were talking about living together. Felicity and I haven’t had that talk yet.” His eyes moved to the door to the restroom before he turned back to his best friend. “But … I mean, I think it might be something I want do.” He paused, breathing in and out deeply. “Is that crazy?”

The bathroom door opened then and Felicity came out, a smile on her face. Oliver couldn’t stop his own reflexive smile as she walked towards them.

“Nah, man, it’s not crazy. You two good getting home?”

“We’re good,” Felicity answered. “You?”

“Yup,” John answered before walking over to where Thea fell asleep in Felicity’s chair. He nudged it with his foot and when she didn’t move, he kicked it. “Let’s go, Queen. Time to head out.”

Groggy and half asleep, Thea stood and hugged Felicity then Oliver before heading towards the door, John hot on her heels.

“You ready to get out of here?” Felicity asked, her hand reaching for his. He nodded and she smiled before yawning. “Sorry. Long night.”

“You’re telling me,” he teased, tugging her close and kissing her. “Home?” he asked, his heart pounding in his chest.

“Home,” she agreed.

 

* * *

 

The _I love you_ had to wait until the morning because Felicity fell asleep on the way home and didn’t wake as he brought her into the house, got her changed and put her in bed. It was endearing, he thought as he got ready for bed himself, sliding under the covers on his side. He wrapped his arms around her and let himself fall asleep thinking of finally telling Felicity how he felt.

He woke to the feeling of her fingers running lightly over his bare back. Smiling, he stretched without having to move very much and opened his eyes to see Felicity watching him, a smile on her face as well. “Good morning,” he murmured as he leaned forward to press a quick kiss to her lips.

“Morning,” she replied leaning in for a kiss of her own. “How do you feel?”

“M’good,” he answered even though he could feel the stiffness in his side. “What about you? You okay?”

“My fingers are a little stiff,” she teased, pulling her hands out and wiggling her fingers at him. He reached out and grabbed them, pulling them to his lips. He kissed her fingertips and arched a brow at her. “Much better,” she whispered with a smile.

“God I love you,” he murmured, pressing his lips to her fingers again.

“You do?” she asked, her voice a little breathless and surprised.

“Do what?” he asked, leaning forward for another kiss.

She pulled back slightly, though, her eyes open and locked on his. “Love me?”

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly. He hadn’t even realized he’d said the words. All of his plans of making it romantic had flown right out the window. It wasn’t anything like he’d imagined it would be. He hadn’t had time to set the mood or anything, just blurted it out like a teenager with no experience at all. But she asked him a direct question and he wasn’t a coward so he took a breath and answered her. “I do. Love you,” he added. She didn’t need it but it actually felt pretty damn good to say the words.

She didn’t say or do anything for a long beat before she smiled brightly, not bothering to try to temper it. “I love you too.”

It was his turn to be surprised. For whatever reason, in all the times he went over telling her he loved her in his mind, he’d never imagined her saying it back; he’d never imagined her feeling the same way. But she did and he kind of felt like he could do anything in the world. He could be stronger than Slade, run faster than Barry … In his mind, no one could beat him at anything. “Yeah?” he asked. “Good. Looks like we’re in love then.”

“Looks like we are,” she agreed, scooting a little closer to him.

“I think we should celebrate that,” he decided, sliding closer to her, his lips a breath away from hers. “Any idea how you wanna do that?”

“Mhm,” she hummed, closing the gap and kissing him lightly. “With pancakes.”

She was up and out of the bed faster than he could have imagined, her laughter trailing after her. With a wide, happy smile, he pushed himself from the bed and followed. The sun was shining through the kitchen windows and Felicity was leaning against the counter in one of his shirts – because there was no way he was going to put her in anything else last night - with a warm smile and bright eyes. They still had a long way to go but he knew without a doubt that this was the woman he would love forever.

“C’mere,” she murmured, crooking her finger in his direction. He complied immediately because, not matter what his sister said, he wasn’t dumb. His hands landed on her hips and she put hers on his shoulders. “Is this what it’s like?” she asked curiously.

“What what’s like?”

“To be with you when you don’t have the weight of the world on your shoulders?”

Oliver tilted his head to the side, brows furrowed. He supposed he did feel lighter, freer, and he wasn’t surprised at all that Felicity noticed the difference. “I suppose it is.”

“Mmm,” she hummed as she leaned in to brush her lips against his. “Definitely worth the hard stuff to get to see that smile on your face.”

“Yeah?” he asked in interest. “That mean you’re willing to stick around for whatever _hard stuff_ pops up next?”

She giggled and he was taken aback. This wasn’t exactly a giggle-worthy moment. At least in his opinion.

“I’m sorry,” she blushed. “Sorry. But …” She pressed her hips against his and arched her brow. Both of them knew what she felt. “You said hard stuff pops up and I apparently have the maturity level of a thirteen year old boy before I have my coffee.”

Grinning, Oliver kissed her soundly. “Answer my question and maybe we can get to the celebration part of the morning. With pancakes or …” He rolled his hips against hers. “Other fun things.”

“Yes,” she breathed before kissing him with purpose. He wasn’t sure if she was saying yes to sticking around or yes to other fun things but he felt like they had all the time in the world to figure it out.


End file.
